A Life Of Loss
by 6helterskelter6
Summary: COMPLETE: Sydney is on holiday in Paris...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Julian Sark never thought that it would never be possible for him to have a normal life. Of course he had thought about it, dreamt about it. He thought about leaving his life behind every single day since he had started living this crazy life. Once he had raised his first gun, to make his first kill, he regretted his decisions. _Every single decision._ He regretted leaving home after his mother's death. He regretted agreeing to work with Irina, ordering his father's assassination, sleeping with Lauren. But most of all, he regretted his decision to let someone into his heart. From that moment on, he was no longer the same person. Mr. Sark now had a weakness. Her name was Sydney Bristow.

_One year earlier…_

Sydney Bristow walked through the front doors of a Paris hotel, she was glowing. Confidence radiated from her. She felt perfect. The past year had been horrible, but now suddenly everything was just amazing. Lauren had been killed, she had broken things off with Vaughn and she was finally taking some time off from work. It was her first _very_ well earned vacation in many years.

After she left Vaughn, she decided that she deserved some time off. Dixon was more than happy to agree. He had said that she should have left sooner, but she hadn't felt that it had been the right time until now.

"Springtime in Paris" she mumbled under her breath, smiling to herself.

Everyone's eyes were drawn to the extraordinary woman walking through the hotel lobby smiling and looking content. Wearing nothing but a just-over-the-knee red summer dress, black heels and black sunglasses, Sydney felt like the most beautiful woman in the universe. She didn't have a care in the world.

Walking up the open elevator doors she smiled at the elevator attendant and walked into the small car. "Fourth floor please."

"Pas problème mademoiselle" the attendant replied smiling back. The doors began to close as he saw a man running towards the door frantically asking for the elevator to be held. He did as the man asked and re-opened the doors.

The man ran into the elevator and thanked the attendant. "Fourth floor please" he said with an unmistakable voice.

Sydney quickly frowned after immediately recognizing his accent, though she did not make eye contact with him yet. She didn't dare endanger the life of the innocent man in the elevator who was just doing his job. Nothing that could possibly happen would have been his fault.

The elevator soon made its way up to the fourth floor and Sydney and the man exited without making eye contact. Obviously he did not recognize her yet.

The man began to walk to his hotel room which happened to be in the same direction of her own room. Not wanting to miss an opportunity like this, she followed the man to where he stopped, took out a key and entered his room. It was room number six. Her room was number seven. She knew that now was not the time to confront him, so she entered her room and walked to the foot of the bed. She couldn't think straight. She needed to relax. She sat down on the foot of the bed and took in a deep breath.

_Calm down Syd. You're just panicking. He couldn't actually be here. He's in CIA custody. Someone would have told you if he was out_, she kept telling herself. But the reality was that he was here. He was across the hall from her right now. _You can't actually do anything right now. You're not prepared. Save it for tomorrow._

Her brain was working overtime. Thinking of all the possibilities. _What if he's leaving later tonight! It's a possibility. He could be on some kind of mission. He needs to be stopped!_

Her mind came to the conclusion that she could not wait until tomorrow. She got off the bed, moved to the dresser and changed into a pair of black sweatpants and a black runner's tank top. _All right, now all I need is my trusty 9mm and I'll be ready._ She walked over to the bed once again and raised the mattress slightly, revealing her trusty 9mm. Picking it up and tucking it into the waistband of her pants at the small of her back, she walked into the hallway.

She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do, and knocked on the door.

The door opened revealing a man in black sweatpants and a black t-shirt with a look of total surprise on his face.

"Hello Agent Bristow" he said with a smirk slowly appearing on his face.

"Hello Mr. Sark."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

An awkward moment of silence washed over the pair in the hallway. Sark broke the silence by coughing. "So, what brings you to my temporary doorstep Agent Bristow?"

"I'm not here to take you into custody if that's what you're asking" she smirked at him. "At least I'm not taking you into custody yet."

"Well that's always good to hear. Would you like to come in? I could offer you a drink."

"Sure I'll come in, but I don't need anything to drink."

"So what brings you to Paris? What kind of mission has the hopeless CIA sent you on this time?"

"Actually, I'm not on a mission." He looked at her surprised. "I'm taking a well deserved vacation. My first one in a long time."

"Really? Well I cannot say that you don't deserve a vacation. You overwork yourself Sydney, you really do."

"Are you concerned for my well being Mr. Sark? That really surprises me." She said raising an eyebrow.

"Oh? And why would that be? I have feelings you know."

"You just don't seem to be the type of person who would care about whether or not I work too hard."

"I respect you Agent Bristow. I feel that you are my equal. You are an incredibly talented and beautiful woman." He took two steps closer to her.

Sydney was now suddenly a little uncomfortable. She moved her hands behind her back touching her gun, just in case he tried anything that she did not approve of.

"Do you know what I have always wanted to do?" Sark asked Sydney.

"What is that?" she asked breathlessly. She wasn't even sure it came out of her mouth at all.

Sark moved even closer. Closing in the space between them. Moving his hands up to grasp her shoulders lightly, slowly pulling her towards him, tilting his head to hers. Their lips briefly touched when gunfire erupted in the hallway behind his closed door.

"Shit!" Sydney cursed. _Oh of course this has to happen right now._ She grabbed her gun from her back and watched Sark run for his gun next to the bed.

"What do you think we should do now?" Sark quickly asked.

"Well… we need to do something, but we have to see who's out there and how many of them there are."

"So how do you propose we do that agent Bristow?"

"I'll do what I do best… improvise" she said with a definite smirk on her face as she went to open the door. She paused and looked back at Sark. "Your room is near the stairwell right?"

"Of course. I always need a quick getaway."

"Great" she stated as she opened the door. The gunfire suddenly stopped and Sydney moved out into the hallway silently. "Sark, keep this door open for cover. We'll need it."

He nodded his approval to her as he was slowly formulating a back-up plan. The only problem was that there was only one plan, and she had figured it out before him. That made him a tab pissed off. She was always one step ahead of him. Always making him think harder, but getting there before him. It was infuriating, but he respected that about her.

Suddenly the gunfire was back. There were at least four men with pistols at the other end of the hallway. Luckily, Sark could duck out of the room behind the door. As he did, he threw the door open and placed a chair in front of it, propping it open and providing some cover for the pair as they escaped.

Sark joined Sydney shooting their way towards the stairwell together. Occasionally, a bullet would hit the walls around them, but the door did seem to be doing its job of protecting them. Once they made it to the stairwell, they ran as fast as they could down the stairs, being careful not to fall. One of them always glancing back to make sure that no one was there and one always looking forward to make sure that no one was ahead.

Once they got to the ground floor, confident that no one was following them right now, they ran out into the parking lot. Sydney was checking out where they were right now, while Sark had gotten out his keys and began jogging towards a car.

"So, would you like to go for a ride?" he asked her.

"Why I'd love to. Thanks for asking" she replied. She eyed the car for a moment. "This is a _really_ nice car Sark."

"Thank you. I like to drive the best."

"I could have guessed. The fine wines, expensive tailored suits, the fact that you're a rich British spy… it just makes sense."

"Well, I think that you've analyzed me sufficiently enough for the moment," he began to drive out of the parking lot towards the centre of the city. "I think that we should do a little shopping."

"You want to take me _shopping_ Sark?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well, we can't exactly go around Paris looking like _this_ now can we?"

"I guess you're right. Do you know a place where I could get something a little nicer?" she asked.

"Of course I do! You just told me that I know how to live expensively didn't you?"

"Well, Sark… CIA agents don't get paid too much. If we could find a department store or something-"

"Sydney… what am I going to do with you? I will take you to where I see fit, and I will pay for your new clothing. After all, it's the _least_ I can do after you got us out of there alive and you're not currently taking me into custody."

"I guess that should be alright. I just think I feel a little odd about a terrorist buying me clothes."

"Well you haven't heard then!"

"Heard what?" she asked. Not having any idea as to what he was referring to.

"I'm out!" he stated excitedly. He chuckled for a moment after seeing the disbelief written over her face. "I decided a few weeks ago that I'm tired of the death and the whole life. I quit Sydney."

Sydney was speechless. She couldn't formulate more than one thought _he's out._ That thought was bouncing through her mind. _He's out, he's out, he's out!_

"Syd, you still in there?" he said while quietly laughing to himself.

"You're out? And you just called me Syd!" she glared at him.

"Yes, I'm out. I left Irina's agency, the covenant, all of it. I left everything behind."

"Why did you decide to do this?"

"Sydney, I did it for the same reason you became a double agent."

"What?"

"I lost someone that I loved."

She looked at him with a definite look of sorrow "Sark, I'm so sorry. Who was she?"

He looked away and cleared his throat. "I cannot tell you that… yet."

"Why not?" she looked at him, her eyes pleading for an answer.

"Because you'll hate me forever, you'll force me to pull over this car and you'll give me the beating of a lifetime."

"Why Sark? Who could you have loved that I would kill you over?"

He sighed. He was giving in, and she knew it. "Lauren Reed."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Sydney looked over at Sark, who looked forwards at the road making sure that he did not stop driving – afraid of what she would do to him.

"You were in love with Lauren? But she was married to Vaughn, and she was covenant…" she drifted off, beginning to figure out how that happened. "So you had an affair with her, then you fell in love with her, and now she's dead and you're out of the whole spy/bad-guy world?"

"That's how the story goes" he looked over at her surprised at her reaction. She wasn't beating him to a pulp! That's what he had expected from her. "Why aren't you beating me to a bloody pulp? That's what I had expected from you for having an affair with your now-boyfriend's wife. I could have hurt your precious Agent Vaughn" he said Vaughn's name with a certain coldness that did not go unnoticed by Sydney.

She frowned and looked down at her hands in her lap. "I broke up with Vaughn last week. Just before I took this holiday. So, I honestly couldn't care less about Vaughn right now."

"I'm surprised Sydney, I thought that you two were pining after each other when he and Lauren were married."

"We were, but when we got back together after her death, he didn't know me anymore. He didn't realize that I had changed through those two missing years."

"How did he not notice that you had changed! Even I noticed, and I'm not a person who knows you all that well."

"I don't know. How should I know. I mean, I thought that it would have been obvious! But he's fucking clueless! He didn't pick up on anything! He thought that we could go back to being just like it was before I left, but that was impossible. Things changed. We were both different, I was tougher and I'd been hurt by him, and then Simon. He had given up on our love and married someone else so quickly after I 'died' that he just… changed. I think he just expected me to forgive him instantly when I came back" she realized that she was ranting and blushed. "I'm sorry to be telling you this, I'm babbling and shouldn't burden you with this, you don't really care."

"Sydney, it's okay, really. I understand when you just need to have a good rant about the shit that happens in life. And you obviously needed it. I'm glad that someone was here to listen to you" he smiled turning his head to look at her with sympathetic eyes. "If you need to talk, I'll be here for you. I know that's an odd thing to say and hear, but I mean it. If you ever need anything, just ask."

"Thanks. The weird thing is that I know you mean it. I can read you pretty well Sark."

Sark turned one last corner and drove into a parking lot. "We should be able to find a clothing store pretty close to here. We should get you more than one outfit, because you can't go back to the hotel now. If you'd like, I have a house just outside of the city. I'm going to be going there later if you'd like to stay."

She sighed. "Well I really shouldn't go back to the hotel, and I can't find another place because of the whole fact that we were part of a shoot-out in a fancy hotel in Paris, so I guess I'll accept your offer" she said smiling shyly. "Um… how long can I stay, because I don't want to be a burden to you. And I'm supposed to be in Paris for the next two weeks…"

"Well seeing as how I caused your holiday to be ruined by being part of the focus of that shoot-out, you can stay as long as you'd like. And I think that you should allow me to buy you whatever you try on today. It's the least I could do. I mean, you saved my ass up there" he said smiling, reaching for her hand to shake on it. She reached out took his hand in hers and shook.

"It looks like we have a deal Mr. Sark."

"Oh and one more thing… Since you've agreed to stay with me, you have to agree to come to a function that I've been invited to at the Louvre next week. And you would need to find a gown because it will be quite the event."

"Okay, I'll agree. But there can be no business dealings are we clear?"

"Crystal. And Sydney, I'm done with that. You have nothing to worry about."

They walked down the street side by side looking for a place to shop. They found one store that appealed to the pair and they walked inside. They were immediately assaulted with people trying to sell them their fine garments. They both declined assistance saying that they were just wishing to browse the shop.

After trying on many different outfits and modelling them for Sark, Sydney left the store with two pairs of jeans, three pairs of pants, a couple of skirts and many different tops. She was wearing a white peasant skirt and red tank top. Sark had gotten rid of his sweats and was wearing dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Sark, you really don't have to do all this. Seriously, at least let me buy you dinner or something. You can't just let me stand by and have you paying for all these new clothes, and letting me stay with you."

"Okay, I'll let you buy me dinner. But Sydney, you must know that I have over $800 million dollars sitting in a bank account and there are no longer any bombs that I'm interested in buying, so I shall spend that money any way I'd like to. And if it happens to be spent buying things for you, then so be it."

She sighed. "Fine, do what you want, even if it makes me extraordinarily happy. Plus, I get new clothes! And you can never really have enough clothes. Or shoes."

"Oh and don't forget, you still need to buy shoes, and a gown."

"When do I need to do that by? Because I don't think we have time today. That's something that I need to look around for. Dresses are not something that can be bought quickly."

"No you don't need it until next Wednesday, so you have a few days to look around."

"You know Sark, I don't want to scare you, but I have to tell you something."

He looked at her sceptically, having no idea as to what she was about to say. "Go ahead."

"Well before I tell you, I have to ask you this. Where would you like to go for dinner?"

"Well there's a little bistro near my home, we could go there if you'd like. We still have a little time before we should eat. And I would like to hear what you're so hesitant to say now Sydney. You're actually making me quite nervous."

"Okay. Here it is" Sydney paused and smirked. She looked into his eyes and her smirk grew into a hesitant smile. "I had a really surprisingly nice time with you today."

"_That's_ what you wanted to say! I thought you were going to say that you were lying earlier and about to take me into custody or something!"

She laughed. "No, just having a nice time with an ex-terrorist and still enemy of the United States."

"Yeah I'm still on that list aren't I?"

"I'll let you in on a secret. I'm going to try and get you off it when I get back. I can see now that you're not bad."

"That would be nice" he said smiling, his blue eyes wide and sparkling. "By the way… I had a really nice time today as well Sydney."

They walked the remaining distance to the car in silence. Both Sark and Sydney were smiling and you could just tell that they were happy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The drive to the restaurant was uneventful. The pair of spies sat in the car staring out at the scenery in complete silence the whole time. Sark was thinking about the wonderful day he had with his ex-adversary, and Sydney was thinking about something completely different.

Actually, she was thinking about the same thing, but her thoughts were the opposite of his. While he was thinking about how he would like to get to know her better, she spent her time scolding herself for having a nice time with a terrorist. _Ex-terrorist_, she kept telling herself, but it was no use. _You can't stay with him for two whole weeks. That would be wrong. _The thing that frightened her the most was that she found herself _wanting _to stay with him. After much mental debate, she finally came to the conclusion that she would not be too nice to him again.

When they arrived at the restaurant Sark got out and walked to Sydney's side of the car, but found that she had already gotten out. _So much for being thoughtful and nice,_ thought Sark.

He noticed that Sydney's cold resolve had returned, and he found that quite sad. He had liked it so much when she had been nice and happy Sydney. She turned and looked

"Look Sark, let's get this clear. We had a nice time today. But that's all that it was. A _nice time._" Maybe if she says these things to him, she'll start to believe them herself. "I think that I should go to a hotel in the city tomorrow."

A shocked look passed over his face. This look caught Sydney by surprise. "I thought that we had a nice time and maybe we could spend some time together… maybe get to know each other better. Things are different now."

"No, they can't be different. You're still wanted Sark. And I still work for the CIA" she sighed, "Things can't be different" she said softly.

Sark sighed and nodded. He turned and walked to the restaurant. Sydney stood there and watched him leave, then followed him in.

The restaurant would have been romantic if there wasn't so much tension between the two people. The waiter took notice of this and did what he could to relieve some of it. He brought them water, told them about the specials and brought Sydney a beautiful red rose. Sadly, though, it did not work. There just wasn't anything that could be done to help right now.

After ten minutes of awkward silence, Sark decided to speak up, "Why can't things be different?"

"What, Sark?"

"Why can't we change things… make them different."

"I don't know," she said exasperatedly, "because we've done things to make it this way. Things that are really hard to change."

"But they're just hard to change, that doesn't mean we _can't_ change them."

"Why would we want to change them anyways? I mean, things are pretty good in my life right now. I've got a new apartment in a new city-"

"New city? You live in Los Angeles."

"Right… um… we can't change things Sark."

"But why? Is it because of my past? Is it because I'm still wanted? If I got a pardon, would that change things?" he looked into her eyes pleadingly.

"I don't know Sark."

The food arrived at this moment and they ate in silence for a while. Everything that had been said in the past moments was running through their minds.

"If things were different, Sark, what would you want to happen?"

"I don't know," he sighed, "all I know is that I want to be more than enemies."

"I really see that happening right now. I'm really changing my life around."

"Then maybe you could change it so I could fit in… somewhere" he said hopefully.

"How about this. I agree to spend time with you during the next two weeks, I'll still go to the ball / gala / whatever it is on Wednesday, but I won't stay with you. I can't do that yet. But I'll find a hotel of some sort near you."

"Well, you won't be able to find a place tonight, so you can stay with me for one night, and then we'll proceed to find you another room."

"Fine."

They sat that way for a while, not noticing the band begin to play, or the couples beginning to sway like branches in the wind to the music. "Sydney, would you like to dance?"

"No" she said stubbornly.

"What harm could there be in sharing a dance Miss Bristow?"

"I am not going to dance with you."

"Then could you enlighten me as to your change in attitude? We had a wonderful day which was full of enjoyment on _both_ our parts, and now you're acting like a two year old who wasn't allowed to go to the park."

"Will you let this go if I dance with you?"

"Yes."

"Fine then" she said as she got up.

He moved his hand to the small of her back, guiding her to the dance floor. Sydney would have admitted that it was a nice gesture if she could bring herself to be in a more accepting mood, but that wasn't happening.

Sark tried to get Sydney to relax in his arms, but she wasn't having it. She was stiff and not moving too much. "Why don't you try to relax Sydney?"

"What if I don't want to?" she looked into his eyes and saw something she had never seen before… she didn't know what it was that she saw, but his eyes were full of emotion. "What's wrong Sark?" she asked.

He blinked and any trace of the emotion in his eyes was gone. Quickly looking away, he replied, "why should anything be wrong."

"Never mind" she sighed and relaxed a bit, placing her head on his shoulder.

They gently swayed to the music. The moment she placed her head on his shoulder, he regretted the way he had just treated her. He didn't know why though, why he would feel remorse for something that wasn't technically his fault, but he was.

"Sark" she spoke into his neck, the sound muffled against his shirt collar and blazer, "Sark, I'm sorry."

"I should be the one to apologize."

"Why? You didn't do anything, I was treating you horribly. And I'm sorry about that. It's just that, I'm not really used to this 'new you' yet. It's going to take a bit of time."

"Well I'll give you all the time you need."

Their attention was suddenly pulled away from each other when two people slammed the front door of the restaurant open. There were two angry people at the front of the restaurant. Sydney had a bad feeling in her gut and Sark grabbed her wrist, quickly tugging her back to their table. The restaurant hostess went up to the two men and asked them if they needed any help and they said that they were looking for a young, blonde, British man. She replied saying that she hadn't seated anyone going by that description, and then they turned just in time to see Sark move to leave with Sydney.

The larger of the two men pulled a gun out of his jacket and began to walk quickly to the back, where Sark and Sydney were standing. He started firing at them, bullets went flying everywhere and people were screaming, running for cover. Sark shoved Sydney out of the way once he noticed that the shooter wasn't aiming too well. Sydney screamed at him to start moving him, and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards the emergency exit.

Once outside, they ran quickly for the car, "who the hell keeps shooting at us!" she screamed.

"How should I know!"

They kept running, bullets hitting the pavement behind them. Suddenly Sydney screamed and fell to the ground. Sark froze, stopped breathing and stared blankly at Sydney who was unconscious on the ground. The bullet grazing his left shoulder brought him back into this world and tore his gun out of his blazer. He began shooting at the two men and hit both of them within seconds. When he was sure that both of them were dead, he ran to Sydney and lifted her into his arms, running to the car as fast as he possibly could.

He placed her carefully into the passenger seat and sped off into the distance.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_One Week Later_

Sark sat by Sydney's side staring at the pale and fragile form lying on the bed in front of him. He kept thinking about how strong she used to look, and now he felt that if he even breathed on her, she would break into a million pieces.

His mind kept flashing back to the talk he had with the doctor when he had gotten her to the hospital…

_One Week Earlier_

He had been pacing in the waiting room for over four hours. _What could be taking so long in there?_ He wondered. He couldn't think of anything other than the blood he saw pouring from her back. His mind instantly thought the worst. Her heart had been hit. It had to be that. She was going to… his thought drifted off when the doctor walked towards him, a grim look across his face. He prepared himself for the worst.

"Mr Warren, your friend Sydney Bristow is out of surgery."

He looked at the doctor hopefully, and frowned when he saw the look in his eyes. "What happened? Is she going to be alright?"

"The bullet entered her back, shattering her left scapula and clavicle. We're going to need to do some reconstructive surgery to repair the damage. As for internal damage… she was bleeding internally, thankfully the bullet did not hit her vertebrae and it missed her heart. It scraped her left lung, but we were able to repair that damage as well." Sark let a breath out that he did not know he was holding in.

The doctor looked down at a chart and sighed. "There's more Mr Warren. The trauma on her body was quite extensive, and in order to protect her from more damage, she has been put into a temporary coma. There is a very good chance that she will pull through within the next few days, but there is a slight chance that she won't wake up."

"What? She might not wake up?" he said softly, moving to a chair and sitting down. He ran his hands through his hair and over his face, trying to take in what he had just learned.

"I'll leave you to think things over." And with that, the doctor left Sark alone with his thoughts.

_Present time_

He sat silently, continuing to look at her. What he wouldn't give to get her to wake. Over the past week, he had not left the hospital, in fear that she would wake up alone. He had tried to reach Jack Bristow earlier in the week, but found that he was out of town "selling airplane parts" according to the operator. Of course they wouldn't give him any information as to his whereabouts because he called using a civilian line.

"Sydney, please wake up" he pleaded. He knew it was no use though. She wouldn't wake up until she was ready, which could be a while.

Earlier in the day the doctor had come in telling him that there had not been a great change in her, to show a greater possibility of her waking up. He told him not to get his hopes up, but it wasn't worth it. His hopes were already high.

Over the past week, he had much time to think about everything in his life. He decided that once he got her out of the hospital, he would figure out who was after him, or her, or them.

He had come to realize how much he cared for Sydney. He couldn't say if it was love, but he knew that he didn't want to lose her. He needed for her to be ok, and he needed to see that for himself. Not just to hear her say that she was ok, because he knew not to believe her. She wasn't happy with her life right now.

_I could try to make her happy,_ he thought, "I will try to make you happy Sydney, all I want is for you to be happy." He took her hand in his, softly, because he felt it might shatter at his light touch.

Suddenly, the machines around him came back to life, beeping incessantly, causing him to look around frantically. The hand in his began to squeeze his lightly. A nurse hurried into the room, checking her pulse. She smiled and hurried out again, as fast as she had entered, and returned with the doctor. Sydney's hand squeezed his again and he whispered "Sydney?" trying to comprehend what was happening.

The doctor flashed a light into her eyes and smiled. "Her pupils are responding." He sighed. "She's back."

Sark let out a nervous sob when Sydney's eyes fluttered open, trying to take in the light that she hadn't seen in a week. She moved her free hand and wiped her eyes weakly. After a moment, she opened her eyes to see Sark sitting by her side, holding her hand between his. He was looking at her with a look of amazement.

"Welcome to the world of the living Sydney" he said smiling.

"What happened?" she managed to croak out, barely a whisper.

"Well, why don't you start by telling me the last thing you remember."

"We were dancing and then we went back to the table at the restaurant and then there were two men who followed us through the back door."

"Well, those men, they shot you in the back."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out from the extreme pain in my left shoulder."

"Ah, that's the Sydney Bristow that I know," he said, "so, you were hit in the left shoulder. It didn't hit your heart, but it scraped the side of your left lung and shattered your scapula and clavicle. They had to do some reconstructive surgery when you were out. But you're going to be fine."

She looked ahead of her, thinking about what he had just said. "Does my father know?"

"I've tried to reach him, but haven't been successful. They won't tell me where he is because I don't know how to contact him through the CIA."

"Oh" they were enveloped by silence for a few minutes until Sydney finally spoke. "Sark?"

He raised his head to look at her. "Yes?"

"Why are you here?" he looked at her quizzically, "I mean, I treated you horribly that night. Why are you still here, why did you stay?"

"I'm not sure how I can answer that Sydney" he paused, trying to form the words that he wanted to say. "Well, I'm not sure how you'll take this but, I care about you Sydney. I realized this week that if I could prevent something from happening to you, I would. I don't want you to feel sad anymore. I want to make you happy. I'm here, right now, because I want to be. I didn't want you to wake up alone."

"Ok" she said. It came out of her so softly, that he wasn't sure she had said anything at all.

"Ok" he replied, smiling softly. He looked slowly down at her hand in his.

"If I give you a way of calling my father for me, would you do it for me?"

"Of course."

"Ok. Call him at this number," she wrote out the correct numbers to call on a piece of paper, "and then enter this code once you hear a click. Then you'll be put through to his desk phone. He should be there, if he isn't, then it'll forward you to his cell phone."

"Ok. I think I can manage that" he got up from the chair and let go of her hand. Walking toward the door, he stopped and turned his head to look at her "I'm glad you're awake and alright Sydney."

She smiled at him, and he continued to the phone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Fifteen minutes later Sark re-entered the room with a grim look on his face. The phone call with Jack had not been too pleasant. Jack did not think so much of him, and it was oh-so-obvious now. He would be arriving within the next day, and he was _not_ looking forward to the face-to-face confrontation.

Sydney was asleep once again, with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

He sat in a chair at the side of her bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

_Phone call_

He followed Sydney's instructions and found himself more nervous than he had ever been before. Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he put himself back into the Sark mindset.

"Jack Bristow" he heard over the line.

"Agent Bristow"

"Mr Sark, what warrants a call to my personal line? It had better be good, or I'll hang up right now"

"It's concerning your daughter"

"What have you done to her you son of a-"

"Agent Bristow, I can assure you that I have done nothing that could cause her any harm. We were having dinner together and-"

"Why were you having dinner with my daughter Mr Sark."

"It's a _very_ long story Agent Bristow, but the short one was that someone is after one or both of us and your daughter got caught in the crossfire"

"Is she going to be alright?" his voice softening at the thought of his daughter hurt,

"She'll be fine, she's in the hospital right now, I'm with her, making sure that she's alright"

"Why would _you_ care if she's alright Mr Sark?"

"Because, contrary to popular belief, I have a heart, and I care about your daughter. I don't want to see her hurt"

"If you stay there, you will hurt her Sark"

"I will do my best not to sir"

There was a long pause on the line, as both men were trying to calm themselves down.

"Where are you?" Jack asked.

"We're at a hospital outside Paris. I'll explain when you get here" they paused again, not knowing what to say, "I don't like to leave her alone for long, I should be getting back to check on her"

"Alright. I'll be there soon. Tell her that"

"Yes sir"

"Oh, and Sark, if you hurt her, I will kill you. You cannot doubt that"

"I don't doubt you sir. I will not hurt your daughter. I will be waiting to see you. We are in room 474. See you soon"

Sark hung up the phone and took in a deep breath. He headed back to Sydney's room.

_Seven hours later_

Sydney awoke to see Sark asleep in a chair at her bedside. She couldn't help but notice how young and handsome he looked. He just looked so serene and peaceful, she thought it was beautiful. She started to raise her hand to touch his face as he stirred. She smiled "hey" she said softly, and quickly lowered her hand.

He smiled seeing her smiling at him. "Hey" he said, his voice still rough from a long slumber, "I spoke to your father. He should be arriving some time today"

"Did your chat go well?"

"Not at all. I think he hates me"

"I wouldn't know why he would hate you, I mean, you were only a terrorist for many years" she said sarcastically and smiling.

"Well, I hate to tell you now, but I think I have to go back into the business for a bit" they both sighed.

"I understand"

"It's going to be hard, but it has to be done. In order for me to find out who's after us"

"I know Sark" she said as she moved her hand out to softly clasp his in hers.

He smiled softly down at her, revelling in the feeling of his hand in hers.

"Julian" she looked up at him with a questioning look "my name is Julian. I want you to call me Julian"

She smiled at him, "Thank you, Julian, for everything"

He shifted his body and pulled her hand to his mouth, laying a soft kiss on her palm, "there was nothing I'd rather do"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until someone knocked on the door.

"Come in" said Sydney.

The door opened and Jack Bristow entered the room. He took a quick look at Sydney, lying on the bed, pale and weak and moved towards her, "Sydney," he said pained.

"Dad, thank you for coming" she weakly held her arms out to him, and he hugged her tightly, but carefully.

"I'm so glad that you are alright. When Sark called me, I didn't know what to think"

"Dad it's alright. He had nothing to do with this. At least, I don't _think_ he had anything to do with this. You didn't, right Julian?"

"Of course not!" he said quickly.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, Sydney was sitting in her father's arms, Sark was sitting in the chair – uncomfortable with the emotional reunion – and Jack was rubbing his daughter's back soothingly. Sark quietly stood, "I'll give you some time alone to talk"

"Mr Sark, I would like you to stay. I would like to hear everything that happened, and I can tell that Sydney will not be able to tell it all."

"Alright sir," he said, sitting back down in his chair.

"Well, here it goes dad…" she told her father about the long day of running and the time spent between the two spies. She left out the part about her agreeing to stay with him, and the nice time they had that day in Paris.

When she was done, her father turned to Sark to hear what had happened next. Sark began to tell the story from when Sydney had fallen to the ground.

"When I got her to the hospital, she had lost a lot of blood. I can honestly say that I was surprised that she was still alive. I thought she would have…" he drifted off, not being able to say that he thought she would die. He composed himself by clearing his throat, "she was in surgery for hours. They repaired the damage that the bullet had caused"

"What kind of damage? Anything permanent?"

"No, nothing worse than scars. The bullet was through and through, not seriously damaging any internal organs. It scraped the edge of her left lung and shattered a couple of bones, but she'll be fine. They did some reconstructive surgery, and she should be fine soon"

"Anything else I should know?"

"Yes sir. They placed her into an induced coma so they could lessen the chances of brain damage. She woke up yesterday, and I called you soon after. If you don't mind me asking sir, where have you been over the past week? I tried reaching you several times, only getting to a secretary who told me nothing"

"There is a problem right now with Arvin Sloane. He's escaped CIA custody. We expect that it has something to do with the covenant"

"I thought that they were gone"

"So did we. I expect that they had something to do with this. I'll do whatever I can to find out who did this."

"Dad," Sydney finally spoke up, "I think I'm going to stay here in France for a bit. You know? Take a leave of absence, until this thing is all cleared up. And besides, I was just shot, I can't go back on active duty just yet."

"I'll get a secure line in here as soon as I can sweetheart."

"Mr Bristow, I would like to offer you my services to help find who did this and take them out. I have just retired from this business, but it seems to want me still and is pulling me back in"

"I appreciate that Mr Sark"

"You may call me Julian"

"Julian, then" they shook hands, "I'm going to find a secure line to call Sydney's supervisor"

"Alright dad. See you in a bit then"

Sark and Sydney were left alone in her room for a few minutes before there was another knock on the door.

"Come in" said Sydney.

The door opened, and the person they had least expected walked through the door, carrying a bouquet of roses.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"Sydney, I'm so glad you're alright"

"Vaughn, what are you doing here?" Sydney asked, between clenched teeth.

"I overheard your father's phone call and followed him here. I know it was stupid of me, but I had to make sure that you were ok"

"I'm fine. Can you go please?"

"No! I'm not leaving yet. Not until I've talked to you," his eyes dart to Sark, noticing him for the first time since he entered the small room, "why is _he_ here?"

"If you mean _Julian_," she said, stating his name in a forceful tone, "then he's here because he saved my life"

"He's not capable of that Sydney, it must have something to do with his endgame"

"I trust him, and believe that it doesn't"

Vaughn sighed and put the roses down on a table in the room. Sark stood and finally spoke up, "Sydney, I'll leave the two of you to talk alone. I'll be right outside, just call if you need anything alright?"

"OK"

"And don't stress yourself out"

"I won't"

"What do you care if she stresses herself out Sark!" Vaughn said, his tone biting.

"I care a lot more than you would know Mr Vaughn!" fists clenched at his sides, his eyes blazing in anger, "I have watched over her for a week, seeing her weak. I would do _anything_ to protect her. Do not doubt me"

"You don't deserve to be near her"

"Vaughn, Julian, please, stop" Sydney pleaded.

Sark took a deep breath and continued outside. "I'll be right outside" he said before closing the door.

"Sydney, please tell me what is going on?"

"Nothing that concerns you anymore Vaughn. My life doesn't concern you anymore. It hasn't since you married Lauren."

"That was a mistake Sydney, I was miserable without you, I had to move on!"

"It doesn't matter Vaughn. I'm going to move on, and you should to"

"Are you moving on with him?" he says softly, sighing and looking down.

"I don't know. Maybe. He cares about me, and I'm starting to care about him too."

"How can you care about him! He's a terrorist, Sydney!"

"So was I, at one point. We've all been on the wanted list at some point Vaughn."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt. Because I know that's what will happen. He's going to hurt you."

"Vaughn, I should be able to make my own decisions. You aren't a part of my life anymore. Please just try to accept that!"

"I can't Sydney! I can't accept it."

"Vaughn, I can't see you anymore. I left L.A. because of that fact. I packed up my life and moved to New York, across the country, to get away from everything, from you. Couldn't you see how miserable I was? I'm happier now than I have been since I came back."

Sark is standing outside of the hospital room, and he can hear most of the conversation.

"_Are you moving on with him?"_ he hears, and this intrigues him. _What will Sydney say to that?_ he wonders.

"_I don't know. Maybe. He cares about me, and I'm starting to care about him too."_ he wants to try too. He wants to be what she wants and deserves.

"_I left L.A. because of that fact. I packed up my life and moved across the country to get away from everything. Couldn't you see how miserable I was?"_ She moved to New York? And then his mind moved back to the conversation they had in the car;

"**Why would we want to change them anyways? I mean, things are pretty good in my life right now. I've got a new apartment in a new city-"**

"**New city? You live in Los Angeles."**

"**Right… um… we can't change things Sark."**

She left because she was miserable with Vaughn. Suddenly, Sark felt sorry. He felt sorry for everything that he had ever done that had hurt Sydney in any way.

Sydney Bristow deserved much better than Michael Vaughn, and he realized that he was willing to try and be just that.

The hospital room became quiet at that point. Vaughn didn't know that she had left because of him. She had told him that she left because of a promotion that she had been offered.

"You left because… of me?" he asked.

"Yes. I left because of you," she said softly, "I left because I was miserable. I was so unhappy with my life there. When I got to New York, I was so much happier."

"What did I do though? That's what I don't understand. What did I do to cause you to move?"

"Nothing. You did nothing. And that's not what I needed. When Lauren was killed, you and I got back together and you acted like nothing had changed. You acted like those three years had never happened. But they had! And you just forgot about them. You acted like she had never existed."

"I'm sorry Sydney. I really am. I still love you. I hope you realize that. And if you ever decide to come back, then you should know that I'll be waiting for you"

"Vaughn, I'm not going to come back. If I visit L.A. anytime soon, it'll be to see my dad, Dixon, Marshall and Weiss. I'll try my best not to see you, because you don't seem to respect the fact that I asked you to leave me alone. Why can't you just understand that? I want to move on, but I can't do that if I have to see you!"

"Syd, I'm sorry."

"Michael, please just leave."

"Sydney please don't make me leave. I just want to talk to you. I love you"

"Michael I know that, but we can't be together anymore. I've realized that now. So could you please leave? And ask Julian to come back in when you do. Thanks."

Vaughn's face slowly showed a sign of resignation and he turned and walked out of the room. "Goodbye Sydney" he whispered on his way out.

After the door closed, the silence of the room enveloped her, making her feel frightened and alone. Tears began to stream down her face. She knew that had probably the last time she would see Vaughn in her life. It scared her because she didn't know what would happen in the future.

A few moments later Sark re-entered the room to see Sydney sitting on the bed, tears running down her cheeks. She looked so alone and scared that it broke his heart. He went to her side and took her hand in his, lifting it to his lips, he laid a soft kiss on her palm.

"What's wrong Sydney?"

"I'm never going to see him again" she croaked out. It terrified him to see her like this. He didn't know what to do. He had never had to comfort someone like this before. So he sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled her carefully to him, and she cried into his chest.

When her tears subsided, she looked into his eyes and saw them full of concern and tenderness. She moved her hand to his face, tracing the contours of his jaw. She softly pulled his head towards hers, and their lips met. It was a kiss full of caring and passion. But it was so light that they were almost convinced that it hadn't happened.

Throughout this, they had not noticed another person entering the room.

"I had always known that you two would get together," the man said. He lifted a gun and pointed it at Sydney's chest, "miss me pigtails?"

"Cole, what are _you_ doing here?" Sark asked.

"It seems you two have evaded my covenant minions. Of course, if you want something to get done, and done properly, you gotta do it yourself. Or so that's what they say in the movies. I've never been one to believe that. That is, until now."

"Why us though? What are you trying to accomplish?"

"Well, you have both betrayed the covenant, so we would like a little revenge. It seems that the people above me would like to see you two dead."

"And what good would that do Cole?" Sydney asked, "don't you think that taking two years of my life would have been sufficient enough?"

"I thought it would be, but they seem to disagree there"

"If you kill me, I want you to know that my parents won't be too happy, and if Julian here lives, he won't be too happy either."

"Well I plan on killing Julian as well as you. As for your parents, they won't be able to find us. Trust me. There's no way they could"

"I think you underestimate a father's love Cole."

It seems that no one had noticed Jack Bristow enter the room, carrying his gun in his hand, he raised it to the back of Cole's head. Cole froze in his place. The colour drained from his face when he felt the cold steel at the base of his skull. He lowered his gun and dropped it on the floor.

"What are you going to do with him dad?"

"I'm not sure. If I call the CIA, they'll know about you being in here, and they'll also know about Sark being here as well. We can't have that."

"Thank you Mr Bristow" Said Sark.

"I can see that you haven't done anything to hurt my daughter, and that you must care about her enough to stay at her side for this time."

"This is touching" sneered Cole.

"You'd better think about what you say Cole. Otherwise I might have to take you to one of my safe houses around here. I have plenty of torture objects. I might have a little fun with you. Maybe get some information about the Covenant from you? Who knows" threatened Jack.

"Dad, can you please figure out where to take him soon? Because I'm feeling really overwhelmed from the events of the past little while. Seeing Vaughn again like that just wore me right out."

Her father looked shocked when he heard this, "Vaughn? Vaughn was here? How did he find out where you were Sydney? You didn't call him did you? You aren't thinking of going back to him are you? Because it's not a good idea, he's not good enough for you."

"Of _course_ not! He said he overheard you talking to Julian and he followed you here. And I'm not thinking about getting back together with him. I told him to leave. And dad please, can I get some rest now? I really don't feel like talking right now."

"Of course sweetheart. Cole, you're going to come with me. I'm sure that we can fine something to do that involves you being in a lot of pain."

"See you later pigtails" Cole said as he left the room, with Jack's gun still at his back.

"I'll see you tomorrow dad right?"

"Of course Sydney" and with that, Sark and Sydney were left alone once again.

"Sydney, you should get some rest. You want to go home soon don't you?"

"I want to get out of here, but I'm not going home. I don't know where home is anymore."

"I can help you find one."

"Thank you" she said as sleep overcame her.

Once he could see that she was in a deep sleep, he stood up and left the room. He went to his house and took a shower. He changed his clothes, set up the spare room, and put the clothes he had bought her into the drawers in that room. Finally thinking that everything was fine, he headed back to the hospital to sit by her side once again.

The next morning Sark is again, by her side. She feels a weight in her hand and realizes that he has gently placed her hand between his once again. She likes the feeling that it gives her. It's comfortable and familiar. As he begins to wake up, she sees his hair and giggles.

"What's so funny Bristow?"

"You look really cute in the morning did you know that? Your hair is extraordinary this morning" she said as she musses up his hair even more.

He groans and stands, walking to a mirror that is hanging in a small bathroom in the room. "You're right. It's awful," he says as he tries to fix the standing pieces of hair.

"Can you get the doctor for me?"

He looks at her concerned, "Why is something wrong? Are you in pain?"

"No, that's not it. I just want to find out when I can leave. I don't really like hospitals. I've seen them too many times."

"I'll go get him" he turns to the door just to see it open and the doctor walks into the room.

"Speak of the devil" whispers Sydney. Sark hears this and smirks.

"Miss Bristow," he says looking down at her charts, "I see you're recovering quickly. That's good."

"Do you have any idea as to when I can leave here?"

"You should be able to leave soon. Probably within the next two days, if your progress stays this good."

"That's good news."

"Yes it is. I hope you aren't stressing yourself out while you're here. Your body needs its rest, so you need to take it easy."

"She has been doing a lot of sleeping lately." Sark says.

"That's a good thing. Now Sydney, there are some things that we do need to talk about for when you leave. We'll want you to stay off your feet until you regain your strength, so we'll get you a wheelchair. You'll only need that for a week or two though, so don't worry. Will you have someone that can help you with things around your home?"

"I'm not sure. I live alone."

Sark walked over to Sydney and took her hand in his, "you can stay with me Sydney."

"And where do you like Mr…"

"Lazarey. I live close to here."

"That's good, because we wouldn't recommend travelling at this time. We would like you to wait for about a week after you're out of the wheelchair. Just for safety reasons."

"That's fine" said Sydney.

"Well I think that's it. Do you have any questions?"

"No, none. Thank you doctor."

"I'll see you again soon" the doctor turned and left the room as quickly as he had entered.

"That's good news, isn't it?" said Sydney.

"Yes it is. And, I already have your room set up at my home. It's just waiting for you. Oh, I also put away your new clothing. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," she smiled, "so, what does this house look like?"

"I can tell you right now that you'll hate it" he said jokingly.

"Oh really" she sarcastically replied, "That's good to know. I think you're beginning to lack in taste Mr Sark."

"Well I'm with you right now, so I can't see how that would be possible."

The next two days were filled with light conversation. Jack had returned to the States, and had actually approved of her decision to stay with Sark for the time. He could tell that she was happier with him than she would be if she was alone in New York, so he did what he thought was best for her, he let her go.

Sark and Sydney signed the appropriate forms for her release, and they were off to his home, sporting Sydney in a new wheelchair (which Sark bought especially for her, even though she protested endlessly) and a bag of supplies and information from Jack. The information was the important stuff to know that Cole had given up.

As they reached the house, Sark tried to explain what the house looked and felt like, but it didn't go well. Sydney was now expecting to see either a large villa covered in vines, or a small and quaint villa with cracked walls outside and dead trees and vines surrounding the property. Let's just say that he wasn't too descriptive when it came to talking about his home.

When they pulled up to the front of the house, it was not what she had been expecting at all. It was a middle sized home, very comfortable looking, with vines crawling up around the front door. The property was littered with various trees, vines and flowers. Her breath caught in her throat when she laid eyes on it.

"Sark this is beautiful" she was gawking at the property.

Seeing her reaction, he decided to enjoy it to the fullest, "I'm glad you like it" he said. He smiled and pushed her chair into the house where her reaction made him even happier. She gasped loudly as they entered the front foyer. A large chandelier hang from the ceiling, lighting up the entire room with reflections of light on the prisms.

It was perfection for both of them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_Sark is running down the stairs, someone is screaming. It's got him frightened to the core. He can't get to her. The door in front of him is locked. He kicks, groans, screams; he does whatever he can to get out his anger. The screaming continues. It's getting louder, more frightened. It's breaking him. He yells out a name he cannot hear. Tears are streaming down his cheeks, but he does not notice._

_He is inside the room, darkness. A woman on a gurney, unmoving. Running, racing to her, he stops short. He cannot touch her. If he does, it is real. It cannot be real. The woman gasps, her chest moves. She is breathing._

_He runs to her side, picks her up and holds her to him. "I thought I lost you" he kept repeating. "I'm sorry" she whispers._

"_No, love, I'm sorry. I never told you this, but I love you" he told her, and she began to cry. _

"_I love you too" she whispered._

"_I love you so much Sydney" Sark whispered, and kissed her softly._

He awoke with a start. _What was that?_ he wondered. Running his hands over his face and through his hair, his mind kept flashing back to him telling Sydney that he loved her. _It was just a dream_ he told himself, but he knew it must be more.

Hearing his stomach growl, he decided it was time to eat something. He left his room and headed to the kitchen, stopping by Sydney's room on the way. Her door was open and her bed was unmade and empty.

He looked at the door and noticed the note taped lightly on the wood;

_Thought, you might want to know, I'm in the kitchen._

_You should be proud, I wheeled myself!_

_Sydney_

Suddenly, he was struck with the idea of sneaking up on her in the kitchen.

He headed to the kitchen and quietly creeped behind a wall, preparing to strike.

"I think you're losing it Sark, I heard you coming down the stairs," she wheeled around the corner, "I've been waiting for you to hide for a bit. You took too long."

He flashed a sheepish grin and ran his hands through his hair, "I was doing no such thing Bristow."

"Sure you weren't. You just really like standing flat against a wall preparing to strike," she giggled, "I saw your face Sark, you were trying to scare me!" she pouted, "how could you do such a thing to an injured woman in a _wheelchair_?"

"I see no woman present."

"Oh, well that just got you five minutes of silence."

"Only _five!_" he remarked, "I would have thought at _least_ ten."

"Well, you're being punished. Plus, I know how much you enjoy the silence."

"I think I've had enough silence this past week. More than enough silence from you than I could handle in a lifetime."

She chuckled, "yeah, like you could stand anyone for an entire lifetime."

"Who knows?" he replied.

They were silent all through breakfast after that.

"Julian?"

"So we're back to Julian then?" he asked.

"Yes, Julian."

"What would you like Sydney?"

"What day of the week is it?"

"It's Saturday."

"Oh." Sydney's expression fell visibly.

"Why?" he asked, "what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry about your event last Wednesday. You missed it."

"I was taking care of some much more important business," he said, smiling. "Don't you worry about it."

"I'm still sorry."

He looked down at his plate for a while, thinking of what he could do to make her feel less guilty, when he came up with the perfect plan.

"Syd? How about I take you out for a surprise tomorrow?"

"This kind of surprise better not end up with us getting shot at again. I don't like those kinds of surprises" she said, smiling a smile that lit up the room.

"Well, it's a date."

"A date?" she asked with a straight face, but there was a certain sparkle in her eyes. Her look matched his.

"If you want it to be" he replied, now adding a grin to the sparkle.

There was a pause of silence until Sydney answered, "ok."

"Ok" he repeated.

"Julian?"

"Yes?"

"No dancing, alright?"

"No dancing" he said.

"Ok," she said, looking off into the distance, her face took on an amused look, "oh god! I have nothing to wear!"

He laughed, stood up and wheeled her into the hallway, "You could wear nothing, and I'd be perfectly happy."

He chuckled when he heard her mutter "cocky bastard" under her breath.

-----------------------------------------------

Sark carefully pushed her wheelchair outside and he took a seat on a chair next to her. She was looking out to the garden, which was blooming beautifully. Lilies and rose bushes dominated the garden, tangling vines throughout.

"It's so gorgeous out here. I love this place. I feel like I never want to leave."

"You _can_ stay for as long as you'd like. That offer will always be there."

"Can I ask you a personal question, Julian?" she asked timidly.

"You can ask, but I'm not 100 sure I'll answer," he replied with a grin, "but that also means that I get to ask you one."

"Why Lauren?"

Sark closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he saw Sydney's eyes probing into his very soul. She wanted to know the answer, so she would find out. He was trying to decide how to tell her about his past lover, that wasn't the easiest thing to do. Especially when you had just figured out that you cared about someone else, more than you did the last.

"Why Lauren? Well, I don't think I'll ever be too sure of that," he paused, collecting his thoughts. "I guess that there were a few factors that I enjoyed. The first being the personal jab I got to throw at Agent Vaughn by sleeping with his wife. Second, it made me angry to see him let go of someone as perfect as you. He had to feel something of betrayal. Third, she wasn't too needy. And finally, she was amazing in bed."

Her face had a mixed look of confusion, sadness and shock. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"I just didn't expect you to answer it that way I guess."

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, more feeling… I really don't have a clue."

"I don't really think I loved _her_. I think I loved the situation. No attachments, just sex. And I don't know how he ever let go of you Sydney" he brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face.

Sydney shifted uncomfortably in her chair, "I think it's your turn to ask me a question."

"Alright" he said, his forehead wrinkled in thought, "OK. Why didn't you tell me you'd moved to New York?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Her face visably fell. Her reaction made him instantly regret asking her. "It's okay Sydney, you don't have to answer" he said quickly.

"It's alright, I just didn't expect that. I didn't know that you'd heard."

"You really don't have to answer that. I was just wondering. If it's going to hurt you, I don't need you to tell me."

"No, it's alright" she sighed. "I didn't tell you, because I wanted something to be the same" at his confused look she continued. "Everything is different. I'm living in New York, my dad and Weiss are in L.A., I'm not with Vaughn anymore, everything is different. And now you're being nice, and you're out of the business-"

"I'm not out anymore. I'm going to find who did this to us and then I will go back into retirement. I have to find them."

"Well, you _were_ out of the business" she sighed. "Well, you see? Everything had changed, and I thought that if I kept that from you, then at least one thing could be the same. You could keep thinking that I was in L.A., and I could feel better."

"Things might have changed Sydney, but it's for the better. Now you won't have other people running your life for you. If you need anything, if you need to talk, if you need someone to just sit with you, I'll be here."

A single tear fell down her cheek. She couldn't understand why it did, but it happened. He reached forward and brushed it away. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm doing this."

"It's alright Sydney, you've had a really rough week."

She chuckled sadly. "That's the understatement of the year."

He smiled. "I think you might be right about that."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Sark?"

He looked up at her.

"About tonight…" she said pensively, "what's the dress code?"

"Well, you can wear anything you'd like" smiling, he continued, "honestly, you can wear anything or nothing. We won't be leaving the house."

"Oh really? I bet you'd like that wouldn't you?" at his questioning look, she continued, "if I wore nothing" she said seductively.

He swallowed audibly, she laughed at him.

Once he had regained control over himself, "I would like that very much"

Sydney, not expecting him to react this way was taken aback by what he said, blushes furiously and stares at her feet intensely.

Sark stands and heads to the door, "Oh and Sydney," he turns back and stares at her, burning holes into her eyes, "formal attire would be more appropriate than nothing at all."

Hours later, Sydney is dressed up in a gorgeous gown and physically prepared for whatever Sark has planned for their little evening. Of course, the gown does not have the normal affect as it would if she could stand for more than thirty seconds at a time. It caused many problems when she was trying to put it on. It took her over fifteen minutes to get the back done up properly. She finally laid down on her stomach on the bad and tugged slowly at the zipper, closing it up. It shouldn't have been that complicated, after all it was just a cocktail dress, it wasn't flowing at her ankles or anything.

She was sitting in her wheelchair putting the final touches of make-up on her face when there came a soft knocking on the door. She placed the make-up down and turned to see Sark's eyes peering through the crack in the door. "I don't see to remember telling you it was safe to look in Sark" she said smiling at him.

"Well, I couldn't risk missing a scantily clad Agent Sydney Bristow, now could I?"

She laughed, and he promised himself that he could make her do that more often. "I guess. Maybe we should move onto the dinner Mr Sark."

"If you say so."

"Well, I do."

He went behind her and began to push her to a part of the house that she had not yet seen. Stopping in the hallway and bending to whisper in her ear, "By the way, I don't think I've ever seen you look as beautiful as you do right at this moment."

Sydney's cheeks turned beet-red at his compliment. She coughed, clearing her throat. Trying to remove some of the tension she was feeling at this moment.

They headed to the second floor, leaving her wheelchair behind on the first, Sark carefully carried her up the stairs and placed her into a beautiful arm-chair. "Thank you" she said.

"Not a problem, love."

She took a good look around her, they were on a balcony surrounded by lilies and roses. Sark looked at her knowingly and smiled. "I heard through someone that lilies are your favourite flower. Is that true?"

"Yes, they are. They are just so beautiful and fresh. I love them."

"I'm glad. But they don't hold anything to you tonight," he took her hands in his. He knelt in front of her and pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I meant what I said earlier Sydney. I've never seen you look more radiant."

"Well, I can't say anything to that. But, I must say that tonight, you look quite handsome yourself."

"What do you say," he said, looking down at the food in front of them, "shall we eat?"

The night was a complete success from both of their points of view. Sark actually opened up to Sydney about his past, and Sydney talked to him about her childhood, missing her mother and her absent father. It was quite a good experience for them both.

Sark carried her down the stairs, to Sydney's protests, and once they were in front of her room, Sydney and Sark just stared at the closed door. Neither one wanted to night to end.

"Sark, would you like to stay the night?"

"I can't Sydney, you're not ready. I'm not ready for that step yet."

"I don't mean that Sark," she said, blushing furiously, "I just… I just want you to stay. I want you to hold me. Can you do that for me?"

He kissed her softly on the lips, taking their breath away. "I would do anything for you. Of course."

He wheeled her back into her room and helped her un-zip her dress. She went into the bathroom to change and came out in a black silk camisole and panties, she slid under the covers. Sark watched her, transfixed by her body. "If I didn't care about you so much Sydney, I would take you right now."

Sydney didn't say anything, just hid her blushing cheeks under the covers. Sark took off his shirt and pants, sliding under the covers wearing his black silk boxers. "Looks like we share something else, other than absentee fathers," he looked at her questioningly, "we both like black silk" she said.

"I can see that" he said as he pulled her into his arms, kissing the back of her head, smelling the scent that is Sydney Bristow. After a few minutes, he watched her breathing change. She was finally asleep. He just lay there, watching her sleep for hours. Just wanting to watch her. Nothing else. Four hours of watching her finally became too much, and he fell asleep next to her.

The next morning, Sydney awakens, taking the sounds in around her. She is shocked to hear someone else in the room breathing. She feels someone's tight arms around her. Suddenly the previous night's events come back to her and she smiles.

She moves to go to the window, but is unable to. Sark's arms tighten around her waist. She turns around and just watches him sleeping. He looks so young, and vulnerable, so soft. She reaches out to touch his face and he stirs. His face forms a small smile, and he yawns. It had to be the sweetest thing Sydney had ever seen.

"Good morning," she whispered.

"Good morning" he replied.

Sydney couldn't help it any longer, she tilted her head to his and placed a soft kiss upon his lips. Sark was now wide awake. His eyes wide with questions.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that" she mumbled. Sark took her face in his hands and smiled, shaking his head. He pulled her head to his and kissed her with such passion, that Sydney was left breathless. "Why did you do that?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to, Sydney."

"OK."

"Are you alright? I mean are you ok with me kissing you?"

"I think so. I mean, it's so new."

"We'll take things slowly."

"I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't think I can move fast. Especially when I can't even walk yet."

"Look, I can wait for you Sydney, I just want you to be happy."

"I know."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

_One Week Later_

"Sark! I need your help!" Sydney yelled.

"I'm coming!" she heard his reply come from somewhere in the house.

Over the past week, Sark and Sydney's 'relationship' had progressed slowly, but both of them were fine with that. Sark spent a lot of his free time in his study, trying to figure out what was going on. Trying to find out who was after them. So far, no one had come attacked them for a while.

Their nights were spent together in Sydney's bed, just sleeping next to each other. Their time together was filled with sweet words, small caresses and little kisses. Over the past week, they had eaten every meal together and Sark had even began calling her love.

Sydney couldn't help but blush when she saw him run into the room. He was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants that were hanging at his waist, and nothing else.

"What's wrong Syd?" he asked, coming to her, concerned.

"Nothing, I just woke up, and you promised me that you would help me walk this morning. Do you remember?"

Over the past week, Sydney had been begging him to let her try and get back to walking. It was around the time that she should be starting with her physical therapy. Sark had been hesitant to let her start, but she made him promise to let her do it today.

"Yes, I remember. But Syd?" he caressed her face, "do you really think you're ready now?"

"I've been killing myself over this for the past two weeks. Just help me out of this chair and help me walk around!" I whine and playfully hit his chest.

"Fine" he huffs.

He pulls her arms up and puts his arms around her waist and pulled her up. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just fine. It's just a little weird."

"No pain?"

"No pain."

They walked around inside and outside the house for the next hour, just talking. Sark kept his arm around her shoulders. There were no awkward or uncomfortable moments for Sydney, there was no pain. It was perfect. The sun was shining and it was the perfect day. Nice and warm, but not too warm.

"I think we should go inside love. You need to relax" he pulled her head to his lips and laid a kiss on her hair.

"What if I don't want to?" I say flirtatiously.

"Well then I'll just have to carry you" he said. He then lifted her into his arms. He carried her all the way back to the house and into the bedroom.

Sitting her back into her wheelchair, Sydney sighed. "I hate this thing. Do you think we could just get me a cane? I promise that I'd actually use it."

"I know you would love, we can go into Paris tomorrow and get one for you. Would you be ok with that?"

"Yeah" they just sat together for a while, holding the other's hand. "Sark?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry that we missed your event when I was in the hospital."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just happy that you're alright."

"Yeah, but no matter what you had thought that I felt about it, I was actually looking forward to it. You know how I love to dress up and go to those kinds of things. I just love running from bullets and guards with guns in four-inch heels" she laughed.

"But it wouldn't be right if I wasn't the one with the gun, would it?"

"No, I guess not." Sark smiled.

"Syd? How long do you want to stay here? Are you planning on going back to New York soon?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" feigning hurt.

"Not at all!" he said quickly. "I was just wondering if we should go out and get you some more clothes. I mean, you only have enough for the next few days. You don't have enough to wear for –"

"Sark, if you want to buy me clothes all you have to do is say so."

"Fine, I want to buy you things. Not clothes necessarily, but things. I like spoiling you."

"Well, I like being spoiled by you" she said, placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"I got a call this morning, before you woke up. And since you mentioned that previous event, I can happily say that you can look forward to another one in two weeks. If you feel up to it, that is."

"What? Are you talking about an occasion that could involve me dancing in a fabulous gown?"

"I think it is. But I'll only bring you if you _can_ walk properly by then."

"Well, what are we waiting for! I'm getting out of this chair and walking some more!" she stands slowly and moves to the door. Sark remains on the bed, just watching her, smiling. "Oh, and to answer your question, I'm not sure how long. But I know that I want to stay for a while. Just to see what's really going on between us."

"There really is something going on here, is there?"

"I think so" she replied, smiling a large smile.

_The Next Day_

"Sydney, are you ready?" Sark called from the living room.

Sydney came into the room wearing a dress with colourful polka-dots. She looked gorgeous. If he hadn't said that he would take their relationship slow, he would have taken her into the bedroom and show her what he thought of her.

"You look exquisite" he said, taking her hand and placing a feather light kiss on her palm.

"So I take it, that it was worth the thirty second wait?"

"Of course love."

She takes his arm, "shall we?"

"Yes, lets"

_Paris – Five Hours Later_

"Sark! Come on! You've bought me WAY too much clothing!" Sydney and Sark were carrying the last of her bags to the car. They had been shopping for over four hours.

"Sydney, I told you that I would buy you new clothing, and that's what I'm doing."

"Fine, but I need a couple of hours alone now, because this dress that I'm going to get… well let's just say that I don't want you to see it before the actual night. Because I am going to look drop… dead… gorgeous" she finished with a passionate kiss.

"Alright. But I need to make sure that you're alright. Because I couldn't live with myself if you're in pain, or if you get worse."

"Julian, I'm feeling fine. Really. I have enough strength for the rest of the day."

"Just making sure love. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Sydney exits the store carrying a large bag, which Sark can only guess is filled with the most beautiful gown that he will ever see.

He crosses the street and takes the bag from her, pulling her to him for a passionate kiss.

"We seem to be doing this a lot today."

"What?"

"Kissing. We've been doing that a lot today. All over Paris. At _every_ high class Parisian clothing store."

"Well, that's because I can't keep my hands off of you."

Sydney blushed furiously. "We should get back home, it's starting to get dark."

"I like hearing you say that, you know?" at Sydney's confused look, he added, "you calling it home." Sark smiled. "I can't say how happy you're making me Sydney."

"Well, I can't believe how much you've changed. Less than a month ago, I was trying to kill you. I _hated_ you. But now, I can't help but feel happy with you. And now, all I want to do is kiss you."

"Feel free to do that any time you'd like. Honestly, I love the feeling of your lips on mine."

"Let's get home" Sydney took his free hand in hers, and they walked to the car.

_One Week Later_

"Sydney, I've got it!" Sark called from his study.

Sydney ran to the room, as quickly as possible.

"You've got it? What did you find?"

"I know who was after us!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Well, Julian, are you going to tell me who shot me?" Sydney asked, incredulously.

"We were right before, with Cole. It's the Covenant."

Sydney stared at him in disbelief. "What? How is that possible? We dismantled the Covenant! They're gone!"

"Looks like we didn't get them all" he said frowning.

"How did we let that happen? How did no one know that they are still around?"

"I don't know. But we have to get rid of them, or else they will continue to come after us Sydney. I'm not going to let them try and take you away again."

"I know. I don't want that to happen. And plus, I don't really want to get shot at again in the near future. So how about we hold off the raid until after that ball thing next week?"

She moved into his caring embrace and sighed into his chest. "I'm not going anywhere" she repeated.

"I think we can wait though, I haven't heard about any movement from the key players for a while. So, we should be alright." Sark stated.

"OK."

Sydney goes behind his desk and sits in his chair, in front of his computer. "So what have you found, Julian?"

"Sydney, you're in my chair."

"Get used to it" she smiled.

"Fine. So," he pointed to the documents on the computer, "you can see the maps of their locations, satellite photographs and the names of the main players, with their background information. Everything we need to take them down. Syd," he turned her to him in the rotating chair, "it's going to be done. We're going to be finished with this life for good."

"Who said anything about me being out? I thought that you wanted to leave."

"Syd, come on. Don't be this way."

Sydney got up out of the chair and walked out of the room, Sark following close behind her. "Come on love, please. I'm sorry, I thought that you wanted to leave."

"I do, but I don't think I'm ready. I'm afraid that you might go back again. What if people still come after us, even after the Covenant is gone?"

"I can't tell you."

"I know" she sighed, "I just need some time to think. Alright? I'm going to go into my room and sit on the bed, maybe listen to some music, and think all about what I'm going to do."

"Sure. I'll see you around dinner then?"

"Of course." Sydney placed a kiss upon his lips and retreated to her bedroom.

Once she was out of view, Sark exhaled deeply and leaned against the wall.

-----------------------------------------------

Sydney sat on her bed for three hours before coming out for dinner. In that time she had decided that she would leave the CIA and stay here with Sark until she figured out what she wanted to do with her life. But only if they could successfully bring down the Covenant.

She heard Sark's door close and his footsteps move to his bedroom. It was safe to leave the comfort of her room.

Slowly and quietly opening and closing her door, she sneaked down to the kitchen. She decided to cook dinner for him when she got to the kitchen and saw everything in the fridge. She wanted it to be an eventful night. She was going to tell him about leaving the CIA, and she wanted to see how long she could stay.

"Sydney? Is that you?" she heard from the hallway.

"Yeah, but don't come into the kitchen Julian! Stay in your room or the study until I call you alright?"

"What are you doing?"

"Just do it! Please?" she pleaded with him.

"Alright love. Just don't burn the place down."

"I promise I won't."

-----------------------------------------------

An hour later, Sydney had created an elaborate meal of Chicken Parmesan (ok, so maybe she wasn't the best cook, but she knew _some_ things).

The table had two off-white candles burning brightly at each side of the table, and Sydney was wearing a white dress that she had bought in town, and earlier, she had requested that Sark wear a suit. She was about to tell him something _very_ important, and she wanted things to be perfect.

Sark came into the dining room looking unbelievably handsome in his suit and stopped when he saw Sydney. His mouth hung open and his heart stopped beating in his chest.

"Sark? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course. It's just that, you look…"

"I know. It's not good enough," she frowned, "I'll just go change into something different."

Sydney started to walk past him when he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, kissing her with the most passion that he ever had. When the finally pulled apart, Sydney took a deep breath , "wow" she sighed.

"I was _going_ to say that you are stunning tonight."

She blushed, "well, I must return the compliment. You look _so_ handsome tonight Julian."

"It's all for you, love" he took her arm, "shall we?" and they walked to the table.

"I wanted to talk to you about this morning. What you said about me leaving the CIA…"

"Sydney, I really do want to apologize about that. If I ever came across as forceful about that. I just thought that you didn't need to be with them anymore. SD-6 is gone, and that's what you wanted. Wasn't it?"

"Yeah. That's what this dinner is for. I wanted to thank you for saying that. Because I wouldn't have come up with this decision if it hadn't been for you. Once we bring the Covenant down, for real, I'm going to leave the CIA."

He smiled, "really?"

"Yes, really. And I was wondering if I could stay with you while I figured out what to do with my life. I wouldn't be here that long, just so long as I could figure everything out. And if I became a burden I would be able to leave, you just have to tell me when."

He just smiled, he hadn't said anything in a while and it was worrying Sydney. "Sark? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, nothing wrong. I just wasn't expecting my dream to come true. Sydney Bristow, _wanting_ to stay here with me indefinitely."

"Well, I must say that I never thought that I would ask to."

"I never thought you would."

"But is it alright with you?"

"Yes, of course, you can stay. As long as you'd like. You woman like you could never be a burden."

"I'm sure that when you find the right woman, fall in love, and have her get pregnant, she will become a burden," at his confused look she continued, "hormones."

He laughed. Something that made Sydney's heart flutter.

"I think I might have already found the right woman."

Sydney's heart didn't dare to think it would be her. "Oh," she frowned.

Sark knew this was the right time and setting to tell her that he was falling in love with her, he just had to do it.

"Sydney, she's the most beautiful woman that I have ever laid eyes upon. She's brave, strong, vibrant, courageous… just amazing. I'm falling head over heels in love with her. She makes me crazy, but that makes me feel even more for her."

Sydney's eyes were filling with tears, her face looked heartbroken. Inside she had felt like her heart was slowly being shattered. She couldn't take it anymore and got up from the table. Sark was in front of her, "Well, I hope that the two of you are happy together. I'll be out of here tomorrow" she choked out and ran to her bedroom.

Sark couldn't move. She thought that she was talking about someone else. But he had seen her face, she was being torn apart thinking about him and another woman. She must have feelings for him too! He was as happy as he had ever been when he went to her bedroom.

He stopped outside the door and listened to her. She was crying. It was loud, and every whimper he heard, cut out a little piece of his heart.

He opened the door and went in. "Please leave me alone Sark." Sydney called him Sark. She was really hurt. "I don't want to hear more about her, please."

"Sydney, are you really that clueless?" she turned to look at him. Her eyes were puffy and red. Her face was broken.

"What are you talking about?"

He smiled and took her hands in his. "Sydney, the woman I was talking about… that woman is _you._"

"Me? You're falling in love with _me_?"

"Yes, Sydney. I'm sorry that I hurt you like this, I thought that you would have known. I thought that you would have figured out that it was you."

"Well, I can be a little silly sometimes."

"Sometimes? Darling, I think that you're always silly."

She laughed and playfully slapped his chest. "Could you just hold me for a bit?"

He pulled her into his arms and held her until she stopped crying, then they went downstairs again and ate their dinner.

-----------------------------------------------


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

_One Week Later_

"Sark, let go. Please let go of my arm. If you don't, then I won't be ready for tonight" Sydney playfully spoke. Sark was awake, but he didn't want to let her get out of bed that fast. He pulled her to him again and moaned. "Sark, come on! Let go of me."

"Syd" he whined "don't leave, please?" he looked at her and pouted like a sad puppy. She giggled at his face and couldn't help but fall for the trick. "Thank you" he said, when she was back in his arms once again."

"But not for long, I'll have to get out of bed soon."

"Why, love? Why do you have to? What is so important about tonight that you have to get ready _seven_ hours ahead of time?"

"Well, I have to do my physiotherapy, have a shower, do my hair, make-up, get into that fabulous surprise gown and kiss you" she ended with a punctuated kiss on his lips.

"I liked the last part. And I can't wait to see you tonight."

She let him hold onto her a little longer before speaking again, "Sark?"

"Yes love?"

"This place, that you live… is it _really_ secret? Because I was wondering…"

"What were you wondering?" he asked, perfectly awake now.

"I miss Weiss."

"Agent Weiss? The friend of Michael Vaughn?"

"Yes, that one. He's my only friend back in LA. I miss talking to him."

He pouted. "You don't enjoy talking to me, love?"

"I enjoy talking to you very much. It's just that, well… I miss him. I don't know why I miss him so much when I have you to talk to."

"I understand Sydney. If you really want to see him, I'm sure that I could have it arranged."

She threw her arms around him and kissed him hard, "Oh thank you Julian!"

He let go of her, "you should start getting ready then. I'll make the arrangements. But you should call him and find out when he can come. I'll be in my study." He kissed her on the cheek and squeezed her hand and left the room.

_This is the perfect day._ Thought Sydney as she began her exercises.

_This is the perfect day._ Thought Sark as he sat in his study. He called his pilot and requested him to have the plane ready to pick up Eric Weiss in a few days.

An hour later, Sydney was finished with her exercises and getting out of the shower. She put on her bra and panties and headed into the bedroom. Her hair was around her shoulders and damp, it was wavy and flowing. She walked over to the mirror on the dresser and began to brush it out.

Suddenly, the door opened and Sark entered the room. When he saw her, they both froze. Sydney realized what she was wearing and her face turned beet-red. "Oh, I'm so sorry Sydney" Sark said quickly, covering his eyes with his hand and turning around. "I thought you were still in the shower and I was going to leave this note for you" he held the note out over his shoulder.

Sydney had gotten her robe off of the chair next to her and put it on hastily. She took the note from him and said a quick thank you. "I'm sorry" he said again and left the room. She read the note once he left.

_Sydney,_

_I've arranged my pilot to pick up Eric Weiss for you,_

_All you need to do is find out when he can come._

_He's welcome to stay here, as long as he doesn't_

_tell anyone where I live. I like this house and_

_don't want to leave it behind. I have good memories_

_here. Most of them with you._

_- Julian._

She smiled when she finished reading the note, and reached for the phone.

"Hello?" she heard from the other end and smiled. It was great to hear his voice again.

"Hey Weiss. It's Sydney."

"Syd! I haven't heard from you in ages! How's New York? You miss me don't you? Because we all miss you here."

"I miss you so much! That's why I'm calling."

"I _knew_ you couldn't live without the Weiss-man. But Syd, I've got a girlfriend and I'm afraid it'll never work out between us."

She laughed out loud. "Well, I've got a somewhat-boyfriend now too, so I'll have to let you down as well."

"You've got a boyfriend? Tell me about him!" she groaned "Come on, Syd. Don't back down. It's girl-talk time. Are you breaking more hearts out on the East Coast?"

"Actually, I'm in France right now. Just outside Paris. But you can't tell anyone. Look Weiss, I miss you. I was wondering if you'd like to visit me here. Because I can get you a flight over here, and I'd really like to see you. You can bring your girlfriend if she promises not to tell, too. I just really want to see you."

"Syd, what are you doing in France?"

"Taking a well-deserved holiday."

He laughed "when was the last time you took one?"

"Well do the two months after Danny's death count?"

"No"

"Then never."

"Well, I'll come. When do you want me?"

"Any time is good, really. I have nothing else to do here other than shop and talk."

"So Syd, what's his name?"

"You'll see. But Eric, you can't tell anyone alright? Only my father and sort-of Vaughn know about him."

"Vaughn? What happened that made you tell Vaughn but not your best friend?"

"Weiss I can hear your pout all the way over here. I'll explain about that later, just _please_ come. I'm begging you. I can't take another three months without my bestest friend in the _whole_ world."

"I'll be there in two days."

"THANK YOU!" she yelled.

"I miss you Syd."

"I miss you too."

"Bye"

Sydney hung up the phone and ran into Sark's study, still wearing the robe over her bra and panties. He was sitting in his chair looking at his computer screen and he looked up at her when she entered the room. She walked to him, turned him in his chair to her and kissed him hard on his shocked lips. "Thank you _so_ much" she said breathlessly.

"If I get that reaction every time I fly one of your friends in, remind me to do that more often" he said when he had recovered.

She smiled, kissed him again and fled from the room to get ready.

_Four hours later_

Sydney was putting on the final touches of her make up. When she heard Sark call from the ground floor. "Sydney, how long does it take to get ready?"

"Oh come _on_ Julian. We have another hour before we have to leave."

"I know, I just want to see this dress. I've been waiting two weeks to see it."

"Patience is something to look for Sark."

"Alright love, I'll be in the study"

"I won't be _that_ long Julian"

Half an hour later, Sydney was heading to the front door. Sark was still in his study, but she wanted _him_ to make the entrance. She was waiting by the front door when she called up to him "Sark! I'm waiting for you. Honestly, how long does it take you to get ready? It's shocking!"

"Yes, that's right Sydney," she heard him coming to the stairs, "I'm the one that takes six hours to get ready to go out…" he drifted off when he saw her. She was wearing a vibrant blue satin gown, and when she spun around, he saw that there was almost no back.

"Julian, I think I'll take your speechlessness as a compliment"

He ran down the rest of the stairs and took her into his arms, giving her the kiss of a lifetime. It took her by surprise, and left her breathless.

"You know all the other times that I've told you that you look beautiful?" he whispered. Sydney could barely nod "they all pale in comparison to tonight."

She kissed him again and led him to the door. "Did you know that you have the most beautiful back I've _ever_ seen?"

She laughed, "No I didn't, but thank you" she blushed, "Julian, you look fantastic in a tux."


	13. Chapter 13

This is where the story finally gets more "mature"…

**Chapter Thirteen**

_The Gala_

"Mr Lazarey, how wonderful to see you here again!" cried a shrill voice from the crowd. A woman came into view and saw Sydney on his arm and frowned. The woman was very beautiful, wearing a black gown and her hair was pulled up in a fantastic up-do. Sydney felt a little threatened by her, but Sark's grim and forced smile reassured her that she wasn't going to get to him.

"Hello Melinda, nice to see you again." Sark said, "it's been _too_ long." Sydney could see that he despised this woman, and it made her want to laugh out loud, but she didn't dare. Not until the woman was out of view. She was _throwing_ herself at Sark in front of her, which was quite shameless. "I'd like you to meet Sydney Bristow."

"It's a pleasure…" Sydney pretended not to remember her name which seemed to infuriate the woman.

"Melinda" she huffed "Melinda Bracknell"

"Miss Bracknell" Sydney shook her hand.

"Yes, a pleasure" she said through clenched teeth.

Sark and Sydney walked in another direction "I never liked that woman" he said.

"She was throwing herself at you. In _front_ of me" Sydney said. She turned to look back at Melinda again and saw a man come behind her and kiss her softly.

"I'd never go for her. She's a horrible woman."

"Who's that man with her?" Sydney asked.

"Her husband."

"So her _husband_ is at the same party and she's trying to get in bed with another man? Don't you think that's a little risky?"

"She doesn't care. I don't know why though, her husband is quite nice."

"And attractive" Sydney added.

"Should I be worried?" he asked.

"Not at all" she said smiling, placing a kiss on his lips.

"Now you're a happy couple." They heard from behind them. It was a familiar voice that both of them recognized, but couldn't place until they saw his face.

"Simon Walker? I thought you were dead?" Sydney said.

"Well, Jules, your father didn't do as good of a job as he could have. I'm still here. And you're with _him_ now, I see" he nodded his head in Sark's direction.

"Simon, long time, no see. I must say that I honestly thought you were dead as well."

"A lot of people are supposed to be." Simon pointedly looked at both of them.

"What do you want Simon?" Sark asked.

"I heard from my sources that Jules here was injured by the Covenant. I've been trying to take them down on my own for a while, but it's not working out so well. I also figured that you would want to take them down. So I was thinking," he looked at Sydney, "maybe, we could work together."

"Si," Sydney crossed her arms in front of her, "how could we trust you? You tried to kill me, sold me out, made me stab my ex-lover in the stomach and you tried to kill my father. All in a two day period."

"Well, two of those things were because _he_," he looked at Sark, "told me all about you betraying me. And that was before the Covenant screwed me out of a million pounds."

"That's sure a reason for wanting revenge." Sydney laughed.

"Simon, could I please speak to Sydney alone for a moment?"

Simon nodded his head and turned around, moving to the other end of the room, "Julian, do you really think this is a good idea? I don't know if I can work with him again. I don't remember much about him, but I don't really like to work with ex's. And he knows more about me than Vaughn. And that was when I was another person."

"Syd, I know you don't want to work with him, but it'll be easier to take them down with his sources. He has a lot of them. Plus, he can tell me stories of when you were together." Sydney swatted his chest and smiled. She kissed him and looked across the room at Simon. He was glaring at Sark with a passion. "And I have you now. He has to watch from afar."

"Fine, I'll work with him. I trust your judgement" she looked up into his eyes, "I trust you."

He kissed her forehead and they walked to Simon. "Ok. Let's do it."

Simon looked at them, took Sydney's hand and placed a kiss on her palm. "I'll contact you."

"Simon, we can't do much for a week. They shot me and I'm still recovering."

"I could never endanger something as gorgeous as you" he looked at the two of them and nodded, "you really are the perfect looking couple" and turned around, walking away.

"I'm not going to let him touch you Syd. Don't worry. The only thing I don't trust him near is you."

"I can take care of myself Julian. But the concern does touch my heart." Sydney said dramatically.

"I'm glad about that" the music the band started to play was making Sydney sway slightly next to him, and he was wondering why anyone would ever want to hurt someone like her. She was perfect in every single way. "So, I think that the objective of this evening should be to dance as long as we possibly can. I know you _love_ dancing."

She smiled and took his arm, nearly dragging him onto the dance floor. "You know, Vaughn never took me dancing"

Sark knew that he should feel a little hurt for her mentioning her ex, but for some reason, he felt better, knowing that he did something for her that made her happy. "You really look beautiful tonight. You literally took my breath away."

She put her head on his shoulder and they swayed to the melody of the music. She moaned into his neck and he felt her smile. "I'm happy" she whispered. His heart stopped. He knew that he was happy too. He had never felt this happy before.

"I'm happy too" he whispered.

"Let's go home Sark."

"Alright love. We'll go home."

They drove home talking about their day. Sark had a surprise waiting for her at home. He was nervous to give it to her. It was the first time he had felt nervous in a long time. He wasn't about to propose a life-long commitment or anything, it was just a gift. But he didn't want to scare off Sydney.

"We're home" said Sydney.

He looked over to her and smiled "we're home" he echoed.

He got out of the car and before she had a chance, he opened her door for her and helped her out. She rewarded him with a peck on the cheek and a quick thank you.

They headed inside and Sark walked her to the bedroom door and gave her a passionate kiss as he opened the door. The room was dark and Sark turned on the light. There were dozens and dozens of lilies in the room. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the room "Julian it's beautiful."

He looked at her seriously "yes it is" Sydney blushed, she was sure that her face would light up the room when she realized that he was talking about her.

"Sydney, I've never cared for someone as much as I do about you. I'm so ecstatic that you've decided to stay with me. At least for now. When you were buying the gown you're wearing right now, I went and bought you this gift" he picked up a green box off the bed and held it in front of her, "I think it belongs with you" he opened up the box and inside was the most beautiful necklace she'd ever been given. It was a silver chain with a heart pendant with diamonds in the centre, "I hope that it'll forever remind you of me."

She smiled and a solitary tear fell down her cheek. "It's beautiful. Can you put it on me?" she smiled even brighter when he took it out of the box. Pulling her hair out of the way, she turned around and he placed the necklace around her neck. "Thank you."

He put the box down on the table beside them and she pulled him to her in a powerful kiss. She took off his blazer and began to unbutton his shirt when he stopped her. "Sydney, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. She answered him by continuing to kiss her and unbutton his shirt.

That was a good enough answer for him.

Once she had tackled his shirt, she ran her hands across his abdomen. His muscles were perfect, and she loved to just touch them. He was perfect. Just like a Greek statue of one of the many gods.

He was still wearing his pants, and she was still wearing her dress. "You're wearing more than me," he whispered breathlessly.

Kissing his earlobe she whispered, "Well, why don't you see to that then?"

He carefully and slowly slid the straps of her dress down the length of her arms, kissing her bare skin as he went. "So beautiful" he whispered over and over again, "so beautiful."

She was in his arms, her dress lay in a pool of blue satin on the floor, in nothing but her panties. His hands were moving about her body. Holding on to anything they possibly could. "No you're wearing more than me" she pouted.

"You should really do something about that."

"Oh alright" she sighed deviously.

She pushed him lightly onto the edge of the bed and ran her hands over his neck and down his chest to the waistband of his pants. His erection was trying to break free, but it couldn't break through the barrier. She fingered then undid the button, then the zipper. She did this at an excruciatingly slow speed, and it was killing him, but he waited. She was worth the wait.

She finally began to pull his pants to the floor and the only things between them were her panties and his black silk boxers. He took her breasts into his hands and began to caress them. His touch was soft, _not like Vaughn at all_, she thought. Sark was better than that man in _every_ way.

"Julian, please, you're torturing me" she said between moans.

He pulled her to the bed and she tugged at the waistband of his boxers. They came off lightning fast. He flipped them over, so he was on top and tore off her panties. What was once a black lace g-string was now a scrap of black lace on the floor.

He kneeled between her legs and looked at her. "You're so perfect" he sighed.

"I'm yours" she whispered.

He bent down and teased her clit. She gasped at his touch, it was too perfect. His tongue licked and teased her into a frenzy. The room was spinning, she couldn't breathe. The man with her was pleasing her more than she had ever felt before. She was about to scream when she stopped him and pulled him up to her. She kissed his lips as hard and with more passion than she ever had before.

She reached down and stroked his erection. He gasped and kissed her again. She took him and guided him into her. She was hot, wet and tight, _perfect_ he thought. He began to thrust in and out of her core. She was moaning, and he was getting closer and closer. Once he heard his name from her lips, he was gone.

He thrust into her harder and harder. He wanted her to cum at the same time as him, so he teased her clit. She gasped at the sensation. She moaned, gasped and screamed his name as her inner muscles milked his shaft. "Oh god!" he whispered. He groaned and whispered her name over and over again as he spilled inside of her.

He collapsed onto her, breathing heavily. "That was perfect" she whispered after what felt like hours.

"Perfect" he echoed. And moments later, she had fallen asleep. Her head on his naked chest, her hand across his body. This was the perfect evening. He had danced the night away with her in his arms, came home with her, made love to her, and came to a realization.

"I love you" he whispered, and fell asleep moments later.

The next morning, Sydney awoke to a feeling of pure contempt. She hadn't expected to feel like that. She had expected happiness or possibly regret, but not contempt. Life just couldn't get much better than this. She was living in France, leaving the CIA, living with a wonderful man and her best friend was going to come to visit in a few days. Plus she had spent the previous night dancing with Julian and when they had come home, he had given her the most beautiful necklace and then they… consummated their relationship.

Things were perfect.

Sydney tried to get out of bed when Sark pulled her tighter to him. Just like every morning. She grinned and he mumbled something in his sleep. She tried to listen closely, and heard her name. Then she froze in shock when he added something else. "Sydney," he mumbled, "I love you."

She couldn't move. He had just said he loved her. Sure, it was just in his sleep, but what if he _really_ felt that way. Not just in his dreams. Would he ever say that to her, when he was awake? Could she ever say that to him?

_No._ She thought, _I need more time._

She forced herself out of his grasp lightly, so not to wake him, and got dressed silently. She went to the foyer and she stood there for a while. Just in her jacket and holding the keys. With a note in her pocket, pacing back and forth, debating whether or not she was going to go out for a little drive.

She left using the front door and took one of the cars. Leaving the behind for him to read when he awoke. She knew it would hurt him to wake up alone after their night of bliss, but she couldn't stick around right now. She needed to think.

Sark awoke thirty minutes later. He was disappointed to see Sydney out of bed, but figured that she would be in the kitchen or outside on the balcony. He checked every room of the house and then lastly the foyer. His heart stopped when he saw her jacket gone. He ran to the front door, tearing it open and saw that the car was gone. He came back inside and noticed the note on the floor.

_Julian,_

_I'm sorry, you just looked to beautiful this morning,_

_I couldn't wake you._

_I'll be back really soon, I just needed some time to_

_think about everything. Don't worry about me._

_I'll be back soon._

_- Sydney_

His first thought was to rip the letter to shreds. The second thought was about her. She shouldn't be out there alone. He did the one thing that she had asked him not to do in her note. He worried about her. He couldn't help it. His final thought, the one that broke him, was that she might have regretted the previous night. He couldn't regret that. He had given himself to her with so much passion and love that he had never shown anyone before. And she had returned it to him.

_What had happened in that time to make her leave?_ He thought.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Sydney drove into Paris and stopped when she reached the train station. She parked the car and she went inside of the building, the place was full of people. People from different countries speaking different languages. She just sat on a bench and took in everything, and thought about the previous night.

What would she do if Sark told her he loved her? What would she say? Could she _ever_ say it to him? What were her feelings about him?

She sat and thought. If her relationship with him was going to continue, she needed to talk to him about last night.

_Two Hours Later_

Sark had been trying to find Sydney for two hours. He didn't want to leave the house in case she came back, but he was tapping into many security feeds all over Paris to see if he could find her. By the time he thought of the train station he heard the front door open. He ran to the door as fast as he possibly could and stopped when he saw her.

She looked so broken and confused.

"You're back" he said softly.

She noticed his presence and looked up at him. Her face looked tired.

"Yeah" she replied moments later.

"Where did you go?" He spoke to her softly, so he didn't startle her.

"The train station" she paused and looked down at her hands, "Julian, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure," he walked up to her and took her hand and they went into the living room and sat on the sofa "we can talk" he couldn't help but think that this was the end, that she was about to leave him.

"What scared you so badly that you had to run away this morning?"

"It was something you said," she paused looking at him, he was really confused, "while you were sleeping. I woke up this morning and everything was perfect, I was just lying in your arms and I was so contempt. Then I heard you mumble my name in your sleep. That was alright, it's not that bad if you mumble my name, but what you said after that just scared me a little. You said 'I love you'."

"Oh" there was nothing else that he could say. _She's scared of me loving her? What?_ He thought.

"It isn't you loving me that scared me, it was the thought of not being able to return that love. If you told me that you love me right now, I don't think I could say it to you too. It's just too soon for that."

When she paused, he wanted to voice his main concern, "Are you leaving?"

She looked at him wide-eyed, "No! Not unless you want me to…"

"I don't, I really, really don't want you to leave."

She smiled weakly. "I'm sorry for scaring you this morning." Sark put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned into his side, placing her head on his shoulder.

"It's okay. You came back" he kissed the top of her head.

"Julian, I'm sorry for everything. I kind of ruined the morning after, didn't I?" she laughed, and that was the moment that he knew everything would be ok.

"Well what did you think of last night then?"

She pursed her lips, then bit down on her bottom lip. "Well, it was sort of…" she paused and looked into his eyes, "perfect" she saw only his desire for her.

"My thoughts exactly" he said, then he kissed her softly, "what would you say to breakfast?"

"I wouldn't object" she replied when her stomach growled. He laughed at her and they went to the kitchen together.

-----------------------------------------------

_Eating Breakfast_

"Julian, you have an extra bedroom right? Because Weiss is coming tomorrow and I wanted to be sure that there's an extra –"

"Sydney, there is more than one extra room in this place, believe me."

"I just wanted to be sure."

"Any other questions?"

"Yeah, is your real last name Sark?"

"No, it's Lazarey."

"Right! I knew that."

"I'm sure you did."

-----------------------------------------------

An hour later Sark and Sydney are sitting on the balcony, Sydney is in his arms and they are watching the trees blow lightly in the wind. "Julian, I'm going to have a shower. Care to join me?"

He looked at her like she was insane, "Do you really have to ask me that love?"

They ran to the bathroom, shedding their clothes along the way. At one point, Julian had pinned Sydney to the wall, placing kisses along her skin. Sydney took his growing erection in her hand and began to pump it with her hand. He groaned and kissed her forcefully and they made their way to the shower.

They never separated their lips when they were in the bathroom. Once they entered the shower, the hot water was beading against her skin and he pushed her against the wall. He thrust into her and pumped in and out of her quickly, and hard. Her moans and her way of breathlessly saying "harder" made him lose control.

She came hard and loud, screaming his name. He was happy that this home was secluded, otherwise he would have been afraid of the neighbours overhearing. But he still wouldn't have cared. He was having the best sex of his life, and he didn't really care who knew. Except for her father, of course.

Her muscles tightened around him over and over again, milking him dry, and he yelled her name as he came into her silky centre.

They finished by washing each other's sweaty bodies, placing kisses on over-sensitive skin.

-----------------------------------------------

_The Next Day_

Sydney left in the morning to pick up Weiss at the airport. It was odd because Sark felt lonely without her at the house. It was so empty without her. But she would be back soon. He didn't want to go to the airport with her because Weiss didn't know about him yet, and it was better for the CIA agent to scream and yell in his secluded house than in front of many at the airport.

It had been over two hours when she returned. She opened the door and he heard Weiss compliment the house, he smiled to himself. He heard Sydney call out to him, but he didn't move until he was sure the front door was closed.

"Julian" she called.

He heard her tell Weiss who it was, or at least he figured that's what she was telling him when he heard someone scream "WHAT!" from the front hall.

He came in the room to a steaming Weiss and Sydney trying not to break down after seeing her friend's great disapproval. "Weiss, please, just listen to me. I really care about him alright? Please, Weiss you mean so much to me. I wanted you to come here and see what he's really like. Not what you think he's like."

Weiss turned to look at Sark and he was wide-eyed. "Mr Weiss, I'm sorry this is such a shock to you, but I-"

"Sydney, you're really doing this?" she nodded. "I can't believe this! He's a criminal Sydney! A terrorist! Do you really want to do something that could ruin your life like this?"

"Look Eric, I know you're not happy about this, but I really need you to understand." Sydney walked over to him and took his hands. "I'm really happy right now. I'm happier than I have been in a long time. I was killing myself over Vaughn and this is just what I need. Can you please try and deal with the issues?"

"I don't think I can truly understand your reasons, but…" he paused and thought about how happy she had looked when she picked him up at the airport. "I guess I can try."

Sydney squealed and jumped onto Weiss hugging him tightly. "Thank you Wiess! I love you!"

He looked over at Sark, "So I take it that I don't have to give you the 'if you hurt her I'll kill you' speech?"

"I won't hurt her." Sark replied with a nod.

"I'll show you to your room Weiss" Sydney said, smiling. Sark noticed that she was glowing. He had never seen her this happy.

They were out of the foyer carrying his bags and Sark just watched them leave the room. He was surprised as to how much Eric Weiss cared about Sydney. He had expected anger from him over what Sydney was doing to her life, but the acceptance that she had received from him was something that surprised him.

-----------------------------------------------

Sydney and Weiss walked through the hallway and Sydney was telling him all about the previous few weeks.

"So it started out with me taking my first holiday since… well… ever. And I ran into Sark in the same hotel. I was debating whether or not to take him into custody when people started shooting at us."

"Why do these things _only_ ever happen to you?" he asked smiling.

"I don't know, people just keep getting stuck on ruining Sydney's life. So we got away, and he told me about how he's gotten out of the spy world. We went shopping," at Weiss' look she explained, "We needed clothes. We were wearing sweats and in Paris, and we weren't exactly out for a jog. So then we went to dinner and he was explaining why he left, and how he felt about me when the same people attacked us. I was shot and he saved my life. Now I'm here and I've healed and I'm finally happy."

"So what's happened between you guys? I don't want many details, but I want to know how serious this is."

"It's getting serious. The other night, after the first time we… well… um… you get it. He was mumbling in his sleep and I heard him say 'I love you'." Weiss gasped. "Naturally, I freaked out and I ran away to the train station for a while to think."

"You do that a lot don't you. Go to the train station."

"I do. Well when I came back, I talked to him and we worked everything out. Weiss, I really care about him. I want this to work out. You can't tell anyone about this, about where we are. I don't want him to be taken away from me. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sydney, I understand, and I won't tell anyone. I can see how much this means to you."

"Thank you so much Weiss. So, is there anything you'd like to do now?"

"Well, how about I go talk to your new boyfriend. See what his intentions are with my best friend."

"Weiss, just don't do anything to piss him off. The last thing I need is to have to clean up Weiss out of the carpet."

"Hey, I could take him."

"I know you could sweetheart" she said pinching his cheeks.

"I'm offended. Just because he's tougher and better looking and better than me doesn't mean that he could beat me when it comes to you."

-----------------------------------------------

Sark was in his study, looking over the files and information he had on the Covenant. And he was horrified when a name came up on the screen. It seemed that there was a new employee working for the Covenant.

Arvin Sloane.

-----------------------------------------------


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

"Julian?" he heard her call from the living room. "Where are you?"

"I'm in the study."

"Can you come to the living room? Weiss wants to talk to you."

"I'll be right there" he printed off the information about Arvin Sloane and prepared himself for the inevitable. Sydney was going to be hurting, and he didn't want it to happen, but she needed to know.

"Weiss, come on! I was _not_ that drunk."

"Sydney you were _totally_ hitting on me! But I couldn't do anything, because it would have hurt Vaughn."

"Oh so it wouldn't hurt me, the morning after, but all you cared about was Vaughn? I'm hurt Weiss. I'm hurt" she pouted.

"Oh Sydney, you know how I love you."

Sark walked into the room with the papers in his hands and the moment Sydney saw his face, she knew something serious was about to happen. "Does Weiss know what's going on, Syd?" he asked her.

"Basically."

"I found something else. You're not going to like it."

"I don't like anything that causes you to have that serious look. So who's betrayed me now?"

Weiss looked at her shocked. "Syd, not everyone you care about is betraying you."

She looked at him and shook her head. She pinched his cheeks and spoke to him in a baby voice "you are so clueless aren't you?"

"Syd," Sark spoke up again. "The Covenant hired a new man for the hit on you."

"Julian!" she pleaded "Please just tell me who it is."

"Arvin Sloane."

Sydney paled and stopped breathing. Weiss froze. "What!" he screamed. "I'm working for that man!"

"How are you working for him?" Sydney asked, "I thought he would be in CIA custody! Not your boss!"

"You know how I 'resigned' from the CIA?" Sydney nodded, Sark had no idea that he had resigned, "Well, I was asked to join a black-ops unit in the CIA. Like a real SD-6. But I didn't know when I signed on who my boss was. Imagine my surprise when I see Arvin Sloane in the briefing room, and not in handcuffs."

Sydney was frozen. Sark walked up to her and held her hand. "Why does this keep happening! Don't people understand who he is? What he does? Why do they continue to put their trust in him!"

"Sydney," Sark pulled her into his arms, Weiss looked a little shocked when he saw this, "I'm sure that they will stop him."

"Weiss, I'm going to stop him. Julian, Simon and I will stop him. I'm going to make him pay for ruining my life time and again."

"Simon? Who's Simon?" Weiss asked.

"Simon Walker. He's alive. We're working with him to bring the Covenant down."

"Woah, this is news to me. I had no idea that he was still alive. I mean, I heard him die over the coms!"

"Well it's not hard to fake someone's death Weiss. They've faked mine, and Julian's."

"And Allie's" Sark added, receiving a cold glare from both Sydney and Weiss.

"Julian, please don't bring her up right now."

"Sorry, love" he looked down at the ground.

"Syd, you've got him so whipped" Weiss said happily, Sydney laughed and Sark looked like he could kill him in an instant.

"Julian, we have to put a stop to this. Weiss, would you be able to help us out with this?" he nodded "We'll need you to update us on Sloane's location. Whether or not he's in the country. Just don't talk to anyone about this. Vaughn is the only person who can know. Do _not_ under any circumstances involve my father or Nadia. She'll be heartbroken, and my father could be in on it. He's unpredictable."

"Of course Syd."

"Ok, so you call us every night, or email us. Just it has to be through a secure server. Give us all the information you can. We _need_ to take him down. For all the people that he's hurt."

"Syd" Julian spoke, "We'll get him for what he's done to you. I understand that you need to bring him down."

She smiled at him, "He took too much away from me. He took my life, Danny's, Francie's… then he took two years of my life. And now he's trying to kill me. Plus, he put your life in danger. Now he's tricked the CIA into letting him work for them. I can't stand him! He needs to be brought down."

"We'll do that Syd" Weiss spoke up.

"Thanks you guys. You don't know how much this means to me. You're doing so much."

"He's taken something from all of us."

They went to the kitchen and talked about their plans to bring him down while making lunch.

"Weiss, I remember earlier that you wanted to talk to Julian about something… If you'd like, I can leave you two alone for a bit, so you can talk." Sydney offered.

"Ok." Weiss said.

"I'll be on the balcony" Sydney said standing up from the table. She went over to Sark and kissed him softly, then headed out to the balcony.

"So Mr Weiss, what is it you'd like to talk about?"

"First off, it's Eric, or Weiss. You're dating my best friend in the world, so you can call me by my name."

"Eric then, what would you like to talk about?"

"Sydney. She's been through a lot Sark, I want to be sure that this isn't just some fling. I want to make sure that you won't play around with her and break her heart."

"I have no intention of doing so. And if I'm calling you by your first name, Eric, you should call me Julian. But if you're more comfortable with Sark, then by all means, continue."

"Julian, I don't know if you're aware, but Sydney's birthday is on Friday. I don't even know if she remembers. But I think that we should plan something for her. Something special."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Well, I was thinking about a double date. My girlfriend is flying into Paris on Thursday for a business meeting and she's been wanting to meet Sydney. Do you think we could do something like that?"

"Of course! I think that would be perfect. I know Sydney loves dancing. Do you think we should take the girls for a night in Paris, dinner and dancing in one of the clubs?"

"Jennifer loves dancing! We haven't been yet. Oh, what would the dress code be?"

"Formal. Sydney loves dressing up. She proved that to me the other night" Sark blushed.

"Is the infamous, stone-cold Mr Sark blushing! I think he is!"

Sark coughed. "Well, I can make the arrangements tonight. Would you be able to get a hold of a tux by then?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Alright then. I'll go get Sydney. And Weiss, don't let this slip."

He pretended to zip his lips shut. Sark walked to the balcony where Sydney was bathing in the sun with her eyes closed and a sun hat guarding her face from the sunlight.

"Syd?"

She looked at him and stood. Giving him a once-over, feeling his body with her hands, "Syd, what are you doing?"

She smiled at him "I'm checking for wounds. I just want to make sure that you aren't dead."

He laughed, "I can assure you that neither Eric nor I am injured."

"You called him Eric!"

"Yes, love" he kissed her forehead. "How about we go back inside. Eric is probably wanting to tell you something."

"Weiss, what do you want to tell me?"

"Huh?" he looked at her confused. "Oh right! Well, Jennifer is flying into Paris in two days, so you can meet her."

She looked at him, "Jennifer?"

"My girlfriend!"

"Oh the girl you told me about on the phone! You never mentioned her name Weiss."

"Well, I'm sorry about that, but we were kind of talking about something else at the time."

"So why don't you tell me about her?" Sydney asked. Sark stood and whispered in her ear that he was going to work in the study, she kissed him softly and he left the room.

"She's perfect Syd. She's got brown hair, deep chocolate brown eyes, she's tall and beautiful. We've been dating since a couple of weeks after you left, so we're going on three months. And well, I'm so in love with her. I'm going to tell her when she's here because, Hello! Paris! The city of love… Actually our three month anniversary is on Friday! That's so perfect!"

"Weiss, I love you! You're such a romantic" she kissed his forehead.

"Well, I need to go into Paris tomorrow with Sar-Julian, so I can rent a tux. I'm going to surprise Jen with dinner for our anniversary. I can't believe I've been with her for a quarter of a year!"

"You're so cute. I'll talk to Julian about that in a minute. I just want to tell you something" she paused, "I'm leaving the CIA. I'm leaving New York and I'm going to be living here for a while."

"Well this is a shock."

"I can't exactly take down Sloane when I'm working for the same company, now can I?'

"I guess not. But Syd, have you really thought this through?"

"Yeah. And I've talked to Julian about it, he's fine with me staying with him."

"If you're sure, and he's ok with it, then I can't argue. Plus, you'll be living in France, outside Paris! How exciting is that!"

"Very" she smiled.

"Well, I'll go un pack now, if you don't mind. I kind of feel like taking a little nap. I'm a little jet-lagged."

"Go ahead!"

"Julian" Sydney knocked on his study door "can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course Sydney" he replied.

"Weiss was wondering if he could take you into Paris tomorrow so he could rent a tux. It's his three month anniversary with his girlfriend on Friday, so he wants to look all fancy-like" she said smiling.

"Of course. But only if you'll come with us. I'll try on tuxes too, and you can watch both of your boys look fancy. _And_ if you come, I'll buy you a fancy dress."

"How could I say no to that? You in a tux _and_ a new dress? There's no other answer" she kissed him softly and sat on his lap. "You really don't mind me being here do you?"

"Of course not. I don't want you to ever think that you have to leave. You're always welcome here."

They sat like that for a while. Sark didn't know how long it was until he realized that an hour had passed and Sydney was asleep in his arms, her head on his shoulder.

He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, and Weiss was just leaving his. He saw the sleeping Sydney in Sark's arms and was silent. He opened the door for him and Sark nodded his thanks to him. As Sark laid Sydney down on the bed, Weiss watched from the doorway. His only thoughts while watching this action were _she's so peaceful and beautiful_ and, _he's totally in love with her._

He watched him kiss her forehead and whisper something that he couldn't hear into her ear and tucked her under the covers carefully. It was odd to see someone who was so ruthless and violent be so caring and soft.

Sark turned and saw Weiss watching him and they left the room quietly, closing the door behind them.

When they got to the living room, Sark looked at the clock and noticed the time. It was 7:30. _Where did the day go?_ He wondered. "Eric, we should eat something for dinner. I expect Sydney is out for the night."

"Yeah sure. What do you have?"

"I'm not sure. I don't really cook that much. Sydney has been doing that, but I'm sure there's something." They opened the fridge and found some pasta, ham and various cheeses and vegetables. "See? There's food."

They just ate what they felt like. Grabbing little things from the fridge when they wanted. An hour later they were talking to each other about their girlfriends over tequila. They were both a little drunk. "Don't kill me Eric, but…" Sark paused when Weiss burst out into laughter.

"HA! When you say 'Eric'" he imitated Sark, "it's so… just so… BRITISH!" and they both fell into another fit of giggles.

"Well, don't kill me, but I'm SO in love with Sydney. I'd do anything for her."

"I know" he laughed, "I love her too. Just not that way. I saw how you feel when you put her in the bed today. You are SO hooked."

"Well, you're the same way!" Weiss looked at him surprised, "not with Sydney" he stumbled "Sydney, of course. You're that way when you talk about Jennifer. You are going to marry her. I can just tell."

"Did you know that I'm psychic?"

"No, I didn't!"

"Well I am!"

"That's good to know. I'll be sure to ask you to read Sydney's mind in the morning. But for now, I'm going to go and join her in bed."

"I'll see you tomorrow!" And they both stumbled off to their different beds.

Sark let his clothes fall to the floor and got into bed next to Sydney and pulled her sloppily into his arms. Thankfully she did not wake, and he soon fell asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Thursday – Two days later_

"Syd! Come on, she'll be here in an hour!" Weiss screamed from outside her door. Julian and Sydney were still inside their room, getting dressed after first-thing in the morning love making…

They emerged from the room with dishevelled hair and flushed cheeks, but they were wearing clothes and otherwise looked acceptable.

"Do _NOT_ tell me what happened in there" both Sydney and Sark exchanged a goofy grin and a laugh as they looked back at Weiss "God, you guys are like two love-sick teenagers."

Sark put his arm around Sydney's shoulders and pulled her close to him, and she sighed, "we are aren't we?" she said.

"So Eric, this girl of yours, what does she do?" Sark asked.

"She works for the CIA, she was hired a few months before Sydney left. She's an analyst. So I don't have to worry about her getting shot at every time she goes on a business trip. Oh and by the way, she's SO excited to meet you Syd. And she won't tell a soul about you Sark. I mean Julian" he corrected quickly, "Sorry man, it's gonna take some time."

"I get it" Sark answered.

Sark took Sydney's arm and they walked to the car. He opened the door for her and kissed her hand, she giggled and rolled her eyes.

-----------------------------------------------

The plane had landed, Weiss, Sydney and Sark were in the arrivals area of the airport waiting for Jennifer. Weiss was moving from side to side because he was so happy and excited to see his girlfriend for the first time in three days. _They haven't spent much time apart in their relationship _Sydney thought, _neither have Julian and I._

Jennifer came through the door and Weiss ran up to her, she met him halfway with a big smile and a passionate kiss. "I missed you" Sydney overheard. She smiled. Sark must have heard this too, or maybe it was just from the public display of affection, because he pulled Sydney to him and kissed her forehead and held her to his chest.

She smiled and sighed against his chest. Weiss walked to them holding Jen's hand, "Syd, this is Jen, Jen this is Syd. And this is Sydney's boyfriend Julian. He's the one you can't say a word about."

"I get it" she said. She looked at Sydney and smiled, "Eric has told me so much about you. Mostly about either you and Vaughn, or your famous nights with Tequila" she laughed.

Sydney blushed and Weiss laughed, "There were a lot of those weren't there Syd?" Weiss asked.

Sark looked at Sydney with a goofy grin, "Nothing happened that I should worry about, right love?"

She kissed him softly, "Nothing at all" she turned to Jen, "Well, I can imagine that you're wiped out from the flight, so why don't we go home?"

"Sounds good," Jen replied, "So where do you live?"

"Well, I live in New York right now, but I'm staying at Julian's. He has a place outside Paris, and if you're anything like me, you'll love it. It's incredible."

They got Jen's bags from the baggage check and headed back to the car. Sark got into the driver's side and said "Fasten your seatbelts" and they were off.

-----------------------------------------------

"Wow!" Jen said when the house came into view, "This is incredible. I've always dreamed of living in a place like this."

"Well, you haven't even seen the back yet. There are lilies and roses everywhere in the garden," said Sydney, beaming with excitement.

"Syd, why don't you show Jennifer around the place, while Eric and I take her bags to their room" Sark said.

"OK!" both girls replied, kissing their boyfriends on their cheeks.

When both girls were out of earshot, the boys began to plan the next night. "Eric, I just realized that Sydney has been here for almost five weeks, and we've been together for almost four. I can't believe she's stayed with me that long."

"I can't either. I'm still shocked she hasn't tried to kill you a few times."

"Yeah. So about tomorrow night… we've got everything planned right?"

"I think so. I rented my tux yesterday, I need to pick it up tomorrow morning, which I can do when the ladies are getting ready… Can I borrow a car for that?"

"I have to go into town as well, to pick up something for Sydney that I had ordered. So I'll go with you."

"Sure. And you made the reservations right?"

"Of course. They're for 7:30. And then we take them dancing."

"Sydney hasn't mentioned her birthday once yet has she?"

"No, nothing to me. How old is she this year?"

"She's turning 29. Do you think she's forgotten? Or do you think she just wants to keep it low-key?"

"I don't know, but there must be something behind it. It's not like her to forget the date. I think I'll talk to her about it."

"Ok. So do you think that we should keep this as a surprise?"

"I think we should keep the anniversary part secret, but I think we should tell Sydney about her birthday. I think something's wrong, and I don't want her to go through anything alone."

-----------------------------------------------

As the boys were talking about their plans and their girls, Sydney and Jen were outside in the backyard talking about the boys.

"Julian is amazing. He's helped me through a really hard time. I really care about him."

"I can see he cares about you. There's something in his eyes. Pure affection."

"Well, the same could be said for Eric, he's so happy with you."

"I'm so in love with him. He's the perfect man. He's smart and cute and funny… just everything I need. Plus, when I'm having a bad day, I can call him up and we just talk."

"I miss that about him. He's really my best friend in the world. I'm so happy for you guys" they sat in the sun for a few minutes, just listening to the trees in the wind, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah sure."

"I don't want you to tell the guys alright?"

"Of course, I won't tell a soul."

"Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm turning 29."

"Oh, why don't you want them to know?"

"Because they'll make a big deal out of it, and I don't want that. I just want it to be like any other day" she paused, "I was engaged once. His name was Danny. I loved him more than anything, and one day he proposed. It was a week after my birthday. I hate my birthday now, more than any other day. Because a few days after that, he was killed. By Arvin Sloane."

"Sydney, that's horrible. Of course I wont' tell anyone about your birthday. Are you sure you don't want to talk to Julian about it though? I'm sure he would understand."

"I don't want him to know. I'm turning 29, and I haven't done anything that I'm supposed to do in life. All I've done has been work. I saved the world every day, I went to work every single day for so long, and now I want a real life. I'm never going to get out, either. I'm stuck in this world forever" she smiled bitterly, "I'm never going to live a normal life, with a husband and children. Not when there are people out there who want to take it away from me."

"Sydney, just be patient, you'll have everything one day. You'll have the life you dream about."

Sydney looked at Jen and smiled, "thank you" she said seriously.

"Not a problem," Jen replied.

They walked back inside a few minutes later, where they saw the boys in the living room reading books. Sark looked up and saw Sydney, he noticed the serious look on her face, "Is everything alright?" he asked, concern was now taking over.

"Everything's fine" Sydney replied, "I'm just going to go take a little nap."

"That sounds like a good idea. I think I'm going to take one too, I feel a little jet-lagged." Jen said.

"Well, I'll come tuck you in then, love." Sark said. Sydney nodded and walked to the room, Sark behind her.

When they got to the room Sydney got undressed and Sark watched her. He was trying to figure out what was going on in her head, but couldn't think of anything. "What's going on Sydney?" he asked.

"Nothing." She answered quickly.

"I know something's going on."

"I'm just tired, I want to get some sleep."

"Syd, please talk to me" he pleaded. She just continued to get into more comfortable clothing.

"Fine Syd, I know something's going on with you, but I'll leave you alone with your inner demons. If you're just going to shut me out, then what's the point of all this?" he turned to leave when he heard her begin to sob.

"It's been almost five years" she whispered shakily.

"What?" he turned in disbelief.

"Danny" and finally he understood, "he died a week after my 24th birthday. I'm turning 29 tomorrow" she sobbed. He walked to her and enveloped her in his arms. "I'm sorry" she whispered when her sobbing subsided.

"Sydney, I understand. You were engaged to the man and then he was suddenly taken from you, I can't imaging how hard that must be for you. You're so strong. You've been able to make yourself happy without him. I bet that right now he is watching over you and he's happy that you're able to move on. That you've found happiness with others."

She smiled at him with tears in her eyes, "Thank you" she said shortly.

"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep if you want me to."

She nodded and hugged him tightly before getting under the covers, and soon falling asleep.

Once Sark was sure she was asleep he got up and left the room. He entered the living room to see Weiss sitting on the sofa with Jennifer in his lap. She was asleep and he was nodding off. Sark coughed and Weiss' head jerked up and he stared at him wide-eyed. Weiss saw the serious look on Sark's face and silently took Jen to the bedroom and returned a few minutes later.

"What happened with Sydney?" Weiss asked when he sat across from Sark on the sofa.

"We have to keep tomorrow night focused on you and Jennifer. Sydney explained to me why she hasn't mentioned her birthday" he looked up from his hands at Weiss, "it's because of Danny."

Weiss exhaled slowly, "What about him?"

"He was killed about a week after her 24th birthday. It's going to be 5 years since she lost him."

"I get it. Jen will love the extra attention. And we won't mention her birthday much. Do you think that would work? Because I know how much Sydney loves dancing, I wouldn't want her to miss this night."

"I wouldn't either" he paused and stood up, "I'm just going to go for a walk. Could you tell Sydney that I'll be back soon?"

Weiss shook his head "yeah, of course. Just come back soon."

Sark nodded and left the house quietly.

Half an hour later Sydney had woken up and found Weiss watching television in the living room. "Hey, where's Julian?" she asked.

"Walking. He told me to tell you that he'd be back soon."

"Ok. What time is it?"

"After one I think…" he looked at the clock, "yeah, it's 1:25"

"I'm going to make something for lunch. Want anything?"

"Yeah, sure. Just make enough for Jen and Julian, because they'll probably want some when they're back or up…"

She smiled and nodded, "Oh course."

Twenty minutes later Jen was in the kitchen helping Sydney with their meal. She was slicing limes when Sark walked into the room. He walked straight to Sydney and put him arms around her front. She smiled and he kissed the top of her head and let go. He moved beside her and asked if there was anything he could do to help. "Someone's cheery right now" Sydney said with laughter in her voice.

"Can you blame me?" he smiled and began chopping some carrots after Sydney pointed at them and handed him a knife, "I've got a beautiful woman in my kitchen who is currently cooking for me."

"Oh, Julian, why can't all men be like you?" Jennifer said as Weiss walked into the room.

"Why can't all men be like who?" Weiss asked.

"Why can't all men be like Julian. He's just so perfect and he can compliment a women perfectly." Jennifer said.

Weiss came up behind her and turned her to him, "you look so gorgeous today. I've missed you more than I can possibly say."

She smiled, gave him a quick kiss and went back to work. Ten minutes later they were gathered around the dining room table eating their meal.

-----------------------------------------------

It's an evening of dinner and dancing at the hottest Paris nightclub. Everyone enjoyed the night. Sydney didn't even feel like it was her birthday, Julian made her forget… and she loved him for that. Jennifer and Weiss had a wonderful time. They celebrated the anniversary of their first date in a night of happiness and music.

When they got home, the two couples went to their rooms and spent their nights in bliss.

-----------------------------------------------

**A/N:** I understand that was a bad and sappy ending, but I just wanted to get to the next part of the story.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Weiss and Jessica had left two weeks ago. Sydney was sitting in the living room with her laptop on her lap, typing up notes on their future op.

"Syd, when do you think we can leave for Zurich?" she heard Sark yell from the study.

"I just have to finish these notes, and write an email to my dad! Oh and then I have to make a quick phone call." she told him.

"Are you all packed?" he asked.

"Of course."

He walked into the room and smiled when he saw her. She was completely immersed in her email to her father. She was wearing her glasses, which he had never seen on her before, she looked adorable. She paused for a moment and bit the inside of her cheek, contemplating what to write. "Julian!" she yelled.

"What, love?"

She nearly dropped her laptop when she noticed him behind her, "Did I scare you?" he brushed his hands along her shoulders.

"A little," she admitted.

"So, what is it?"

"What should I tell my father?" she asked him.

"The truth," he looked at what she had written already, "You should tell him that we're trying to bring down Sloane, and that's where you are right now. And you can leave out the part about being my love slave, I think that would kill him."

"I think it's more like you being _my_ love slave," she giggled, "But don't worry, I won't say a word."

"So when you're done that, we can leave?"

She nodded her head and then kissed his cheek.

"I'll be right back then."

"'kay"

She finished the email and sent it off. When Julian returned to the room he had something around his back. "What have you got there?" she asked curiously.

He took a small jewellery box from his hands and put it in hers.

"What is this?" she asked while opening it.

She looked at it and stilled, "Why are you giving me this, Julian?"

"My last mission was in Greece. When I was there, I had some time to look around, visit the markets… Well, one woman showed me this necklace and told me a story behind it. It's called an 'evil eye' and it's meant to protect the wearer. It's been said that it watches over you and gets rid of evil. I want you to wear it, so I know that in some way, when we aren't together, you are protected. I know it doesn't look all that special, but…"

Sydney cut him off with a passionate kiss. "I think it's beautiful. And I just don't what to say…"

He reached behind her neck and placed the necklace on her. "I need you to be safe Sydney."

She nodded and stood, "We should go. We don't want Sloane to wait now, do we?"

He laughed and shook his head, "That was a fast subject change."

"You should know better than anyone, I like moving fast," she said seductively. Julian swallowed hard and took her arm, leading her out of the house.

--------------------------------------------

Sloane had a meeting in a nightclub with a man named Arthur Menalda, an arms dealer who was one of the head members of the Covenant. Sydney was dressed in a green dress that was flowing just below the knee, just so she could move around in it if she had to. Julian was wearing his signature black Armani suit. They walked into the club as if they owned the place. They were perfect together, Sydney hadn't realized it until that moment, but when he had said before that they were destined to work together she hadn't found how true that was until now.

"I see them," he whispered to her.

"Wanna dance?" she asked him.

They began to sway to the music on the dancefloor, "I think you like dancing, Maria."

"We seem to do this a lot, don't we, Andrew?"

He nodded and she put her head on his shoulder. "What do you think will happen once we've brought them down?" he asked.

"I don't know yet. But we have plenty of time to figure that out."

"Yeah," he said breathlessly.

A few moments, he whispered to her, "They're exchanging the package."

"Let's move," they now had their full game-faces on. There was no fooling around now.

Sydney reached down to her garter where her gun was placed and discretely pulled it out and carried it hidden behind her handbag.

Sark walked up to the pair and sat down, Sydney was still hiding within the massive crowd of dancers. "Ah, Mr Sark," she heard Arthur say.

"Mr Menalda, Arvin," he nodded his head curtly at them. "What are you two doing here?"

"Just an exchange Julian, nothing to worry about," Sloane said.

"Just checking up to see what my money used to be funding."

"Yes, we did notice that Mr Sark. Your money was doing us some good then" Menalda stated.

"Well, I didn't like the way business was being done, what can I say? I like to know where my money is going."

"I had heard you had left this world behind, Julian. What on Earth could have brought you back into something like this?"

"Someone, actually."

"And who might that have been?" Sloane asked curiously.

"That's for another time."

Menalda got up and was about to leave when Julian suddenly took out his gun and shot him in the head. His body collapsed to the ground. Sydney tried to get to him, but was forced back by the screaming crowd. She ended up waiting for him by the front door.

"Sloane got away," was the first thing he said to her after looking her over for any injuries.

"We'll get him soon," she said, caressing his face lightly.

They got into their car and drove off into the night.

------------------------------------------------

"Sydney!" Sark called from the study.

"You yelled?"

"Can you be ready in an hour?"

She looked at him confused, "Ready for what?" she asked.

"To move in on Sloane."

She took in a deep breath and smiled, "Of course."

"Let's get ready, then."

He took her hand and they went to the bedroom to pack. "He's going to be meeting all of the Covenant cell leaders to try and replace Menalda."

Sydney scoffed, "Don't you think that's stupid? I mean, why don't they just post a bulleten, "CALLING ALL ASSASINS, WE'RE HERE!" with an arrow pointing to their location?"

"That's basically what they have done. And I've done my own investigation, it's not a trap."

"Good to know."

They finished packing and found that they sill had forty minutes until they had to leave.

"Well, you're a fast packer," Julian teased.

"We have some time to spare… whatever shall we do?" she said as she brushed her hand against his groin.

He coughed, "Syd, are you sure you don't want to go over the mission specs?"

"No, I think I want you."

She kissed him hard and fast, thrusting her tongue into his mouth and began to softly caress his tongue with hers. He pulled off her clothes quickly and she pulled off his, all the while snogging to no end.

They collapse onto the bed and he thrust himself into her. Their pace was frantic, skin moving upon skin. Moans would have been heard all through the house if anyone else had been there, but thankfully it was empty.

Their pace continued to quicken before they exploded into a world of passion.

They looked over at the clock and found that twenty minutes had passed, "That passed some time," Sydney giggled.

Sark looked at her and softly brushed a piece of hair out of her face, "It did," he whispered. He kissed her softly and grinned, "I just need to go check something in the study, and then we can leave."

Sydney nodded and watched him get dressed and leave the room. She walked over to her purse and took out her cell phone, dialling a familiar number.

"This is Agent Bristow," she said cautiously when the phone was picked up.

"Agent Bristow, you're late."

"I understand sir, I haven't had a chance to call until now."

"You will be happy to hear that your plan has been approved by Langley. All you need to do is get Mr Sark here, and you'll get what you want. Remember that you must complete this mission before you bring him in."

"I know sir. There shouldn't be a problem. He told me that he's out of the business."

"I guess we'll be seeing you soon. Do what you have to do to get him here."

"Yes, sir. I'll bring him in. Thank you sir."

She hung up the phone and sat down on the bed, sighing. _This is going to be tough_, she thought.

------------------------------------------------------

Julian was finished in the study when he was walking back to the bedroom. He heard Sydney talking to someone on the phone. When he heard some interesting words.

"_There shouldn't be a problem. He told me that he's out of the business."_

"_Yes, sir. I'll bring him in. Thank you sir."_

So, she was going to sell him out. She was using him. _I can't believe her,_ he thought, _I loved her and she's turning me in! It's not going to work, my love._

He took a deep breath and walked into the room. Sydney turned to him and smiled. "Hey," she said.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her blankly.

"Yeah. I'll just grab my purse."

He took her arm and walked out the front door.

When they were in the car, Sydney grasped his hand gently and began to soothingly rub his hand with her thumb, "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking about the mission."

She nodded and looked ahead, wondering what could be making him act this way.

----------------------------------------------------

They arrived in Paris an hour later. They checked into a hotel and unpacked all of their mission gear. "So, care to tell me what is going to happen on this mission?"

"You have to go in and 'interrupt' the meeting between Sloane and the other Covenant leaders."

"I got that, what are you going to do, and how am I going to interrupt the meeting?"

"Your cover is a waitress. Your wardrobe is in there," he said pointing to the closet, "They are on a private floor. No guests will be able to get there, and there will be pretty heavy undercover security, so be careful."

"I always am."

He nodded curtly, "I'm going to disguise myself as one of the security operatives, I'll be meeting you upstairs when we'll take them down."

Sydney nodded, "How will we do that?"

"I'll be in contact with you the whole time through an earpiece. When you're up on the floor, I need you to press this button," he held up a tray with a small black button poking out from the plastic, "It will allow me to know when you're ready. I'll come in and we'll take them down."

Sydney nodded, "When is this happening?" she asked.

"We need to be in place in two hours."

"I'll go get ready then."

"Syd," he grasped her arm as she stood, "You're almost free."

She smiled and nodded, "I have to get changed."

"I need to talk to you," he said as she opened the bathroom door, "It's important."

"Sure," she said. She turned around again and sat in the chair next to him, "What is it, Julian?"

"Who were you talking to earlier?"

"What?" she was nervous now, "What are you talking about?"

"I know Sydney. I heard your conversation. I know you're going to bring me in after this mission."

"Julian you don't under-"

"When did you start whoring yourself for the CIA?"

She slapped his face hard, "What are you talking about?"

"This!" he screamed, "You and me, it's a lie. There was never anything between us was there!"

He was pacing around the room and then stopped when he saw his bag. He opened it and pulled out a gun, pointing it at Sydney he continued, "I'm not going to let you bring me in Agent Bristow."

Sydney's eyes were wide with disbelief, "It's not a lie," she whispered.

"Then explain it to me. Tell me why you were talking to your director about bringing me in," his hands were shaking and Sydney wasn't moving. She just stared at him.

"I can't tell you that. Not yet."

"Well, then I guess this is it," he took off the safety and aimed the gun.

"Please, Julian," she whispered. Sydney had tears running down her cheeks. When he saw them he faltered.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and Sark dropped to the floor. Sloane was at the door holding a gun, aimed at Sydney. She saw his finger tighten against the trigger and another shot rang out in the room. Sydney looked down at her shaking hands and noticed that there was no pain, no blood coming from her body. She saw Sloane drop to the ground with blood pouring out of his chest.

Julian was lying on the ground with his gun still pointed where Sloane's chest had just been, she ran to Julian's side and put pressure on his chest. "I shot Sloane," he whispered.

Sydney nodded, "I know. Why did you do it?"

"I couldn't let him," he whispered tearfully, "I couldn't kill you Sydney."

"Why not?" she asked him with her tears falling onto his chest.

"Because I love you," she gasped at his declaration, "I couldn't do it."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "You need to understand something. I wasn't setting you up."

He smiled at her, "It's alright Syd. You don't have to explain."

"I do, I need to tell you," she let one of her hands drift to her phone which was sitting on the table. She dialled her CIA contact and requested immediate extraction.

"CIA? I thought you weren't bringing me in," he said sadly.

"I am, but not for what you're thinking."

"I'm dying Syd. There's no point."

"You're not dying. You aren't going to die," she replied stubbornly.

"I am, you can't do anything."

"I got you pardoned," she whispered, "I needed to bring you in so you could sign it."

A tear fell from his eye, "Why would you do that?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance. Even if it's you," she saw his breathing slow, "Please hang on Julian, I need you to hold on."

"I'm sorry, I can't," Sydney whimpered and her hands were shaking more than ever, "I love you," he whispered before his eyes closed.

"NO!" Sydney screamed. The door slammed open and CIA agents along with paramedics entered the room. They took Julian's body and placed him on the stretcher. They checked his vitals quickly before leaving the room in a hurry.

"We need to get him to a hospital quickly, he's still got a pulse," Sydney heard one of them say.

Sydney got up and held his hand before they left. She was asked to stay behind with the agents and answer questions about the situation.

------------------------------------------------------


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

There's something about sitting in an empty room that gets to you. She had been sitting in the empty hospital bed for hours, staring out the window, watching the grey sky darken as night came. There was nothing to think about other than the fate of a person she cared deeply about.

There was someone at the door knocking slowly, a nurse entered and smiled at her. "We'll be bringing him back in just a moment dearie," she said.

Sydney smiled and sniffled, "Is he going to be alright?" she asked.

"I'll have the doctor come in and speak to you about that," she said shortly.

The nurse checked the machines and left Sydney alone once again before the doctor entered. "Miss Bristow?" he asked.

Sydney stood up quickly and nodded her head. "Yes?" she said quickly.

"We're going to bring in Mr Lazarey in a moment, but I need to talk to you first. He's awake right now, his surgery went well. We removed the bullet from his abdomen, and luckily it didn't cause too much internal damage. We were able to fix any problem we saw."

Sydney smiled and let out a breath that she hadn't noticed she was holding in. "So he's going to be okay?"

The doctor nodded, "It looks that way right now. We need to keep him here for a week or longer to watch his vitals, but things are looking good at this time."

"Thank you doctor," she said before he turned and left the room. He returned a moment later with Julian and many orderlies and a nurse. Julian was lying on a stretcher and Sydney could see that his eyes were open. She smiled at him and he nervously smiled back at her. The doctor checked his vitals before leaving the room while the nurse made sure that the IV glucose was getting into his body before she left Sydney and Julian alone.

"Hey," she whispered. She looked at the man lying on the bed in front of her and he looked so sick and broken, it made her feel so horrible to just watch him and not be able to take away any of his pain.

"You stayed?" he croaked.

She nodded and a tear fell down her cheek, "I wouldn't leave you like that. I'm just happy you're alive."

"Syd," he whispered. He took her hand in his and tugged it lightly, "I'm sorry for before."

Sydney shook her head, "No, I should have told you. I don't think I'll understand what you felt when you thought I was betraying you. I would never do that."

He shook his head, "I'm still sorry," he smiled lightly. "I love you Sydney," he quietly stated before dozing off.

----------------------------------------------------------

Sydney watched him as he slept, she thought about the fact that this once assassin and terrorist was now reformed and had a presidential pardon. He loved her. He had almost given his life for her. He had actually been _willing_ to die for her.

The question that kept running through her mind was whether or not she loved him. She knew she cared deeply for him, but she didn't know if it had developed into love yet. Before she knew it, hours had passed and Julian was awake again.

"Hello love," he said. Sydney smiled and kissed him lightly, "Finally," he joked, "It took you long enough."

Sydney laughed, "How are you feeling today?" she asked him.

"Aside from the fact that I've been shot?" he joked lightly and Sydney smiled while nodding, "Never better."

"I'm so sorry Julian," she said soon after.

Julian looked up at her confused, "What are you sorry for?"

"You're in love with me…" a look of sadness crept over Sydney's face and Julian understood.

"Syd, I love you, but you don't need to say it now. I just had to get it out before I died. I knew that I would have regretted it if I hadn't said it."

Sydney smiled and kissed his palm before telling him she would be right back. She returned fifteen minutes later with the Director of her department. He was carrying a briefcase. He placed it down on a table in the corner of the room and took out a document and placed it on the bed tray on Julian's bed. He took out a pen and handed it to Julian, "Mr Lazarey, this document is your pardon agreement with the United States of America. We would like to thank you for your assistance in the case involving Arvin Sloane. By signing this document you are agreeing with the government that you will not violate this accord, and if you do, that will be punishable by the death penalty and imprisonment at Camp Harris. Do you agree?" he said bureaucratically.

Julian nodded and signed the document. "Thank you sir," he said.

The man nodded and said goodbye to the pair and left the room.

"Well that was quick," Sydney said. Julian laughed and pulled Sydney down onto the bed next to him. She carefully placed her arm around his waist and soon they drifted off to sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

Two months had passed and Sydney had resigned from her position at the CIA. She had been living with Julian in France at his home since they had returned from the hospital. The life she was living right now was a happy one; a normal one. Finally after so many years of fighting, she had won her normal life. Julian made her happy.

Two months ago, Julian confessed his love for her, and she still had not yet returned the gesture. Oh, what she felt for him was definitely love; but for some reason, she could not say it out loud yet. She wasn't ready.

Sydney was actually looking for a new job as an English teacher in one of the local schools; she was surprised that the children spoke English so well. For a month, she had been substituting for a teacher who had gone on maternity leave. She loved the kids. Every day she would come into the classroom and see her students sitting at their desks with attentive looks on their faces; eager to learn something new. It made her look forward to the future.

Children. Sydney had thought about having her own children for many years. The first time she had thought about it was when she had been with Noah. Her dream went down the drain that time. Then with Danny, and finally with Vaughn. She had always thought that Vaughn was her soul mate, but she now knew she had been mistaken. Julian Lazarey had proven to her that he was her soul mate.

-----------------------------------------------------

Sydney woke up because of a feeling in her stomach. She turned on her side and saw Julian sleeping peacefully next to her. The feeling in her stomach returned and she bolted out of bed and ran into the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach.

Sadly, this wasn't the first time this had happened. It had been happening almost every morning for the last three weeks. Thankfully, Julian had not noticed yet, but she was concerned. For some reason Julian hadn't seen much of her because she was sleeping a lot more than usual.

Something about this morning was different though; Julian woke up when she had closed the bathroom door a little more forcefully than she had thought. "Love, what's wrong?" he asked when he saw her hunched over the toilet seat.

"Just not feeling too good today," she croaked out. Julian came up behind her and began to rub her back soothingly.

"Are you going to be alright?" he asked. "I can go get you something for your stomach."

Sydney nodded and sat against the bathtub. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm so tired. I've been sleeping so much. I don't know how you haven't noticed," she said when he came back into the room with a can of ginger ale. Sydney opened it and took a sip before putting it down.

Julian sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her back, holding her against him. "I'm sure you'll be fine Syd. It's probably just the flu or something," he said.

---------------------------------------------------------

The next week Sydney woke up to the smell of bacon all through the house. The second it permeated her nose, she bolted out of bed and ran to the bathroom, vomiting anything that remained in her stomach.

Sark, being in the kitchen a few doors down heard a door open and another shut loudly. It worried him that this continued happening. This had been the third time this week that this had happened. He was worried about her, but every time he tried talking to her about it, she brushed it off saying it was just a bug.

He walked to the bathroom to see her head hung over the toilet. He walked over to her and brushed her hair out of her face, holding it back. He rubbed her back soothingly and whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

A few minutes later, they headed back to the kitchen. "Syd," he said, kissing her forehead, "I'm going to take you into town to see a doctor today. This isn't just a stomach bug. It's more serious than that, I can see."

"It's nothing Julian. I'm fine. I don't need to see a doctor."

"Please Sydney, just humour me."

"Why are you so concerned anyway? Nothing's wrong with me. It's nothing."

"I'm concerned about you because I love you. I just want to make sure that everything's alright with you. I'm sure it's nothing serious, but I just want to get it checked out."

"I don't understand why you would love me."

"You mean everything to me Sydney, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well," she smiled, "in that case, I'll humour you. I'll see the doctor tomorrow. Maybe today if you want" she paused, contemplating possibilities. "Well, you realize that there could be another thing that's going on with you right?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm late" at his questioning look she continued, "my period. It's late. There's a chance that I'm pregnant" she was glowing at this point.

"Pregnant?" his face was blank. "Syd, you might be pregnant?" he frowned.

Sydney looked down to the floor, her face falling, "Yeah, well, it's a slim chance though. It's not likely" she turned away and started to walk to the bathroom, "I'm going to go have a shower."

"Syd!" he called after her. Running up and grabbing her arm. "Syd? Please. I'm sorry. I just didn't expect that. I didn't even consider it."

There were now tears in her eyes. "Please don't cry love. Please don't cry. I'm so happy," his face was glowing with happiness and pride, "Do you really think you might be pregnant? Because if you are, then I'll be the happiest man alive."

Her tears stopped at his revelation. She smiled a brilliant smile that lit up the room and laughed when his hands went to her stomach. "Really?"

"Yes, really. And you'll be the greatest mother of all time Syd, I know it."

"You'll be an amazing father. You really will Julian."

"I'm not so sure of that yet. We'll see."

"I know you will Julian. I know you."

"Well, do you think you're up for a doctor's visit today?"

"Yes, I want to go. Would you be ready to go now?"

"I'll be ready any time Syd. Anything for you."

-----------------------------------------------------------

_One Hour Later – The doctor's office_

"Miss Bristow, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Well," she sighed, "in the past seven days I've thrown up three times in the mornings. Y boyfriend out there is paranoid and wants to make sure that I'm alright. I've missed my period this month, so I think I might be pregnant."

"Well, I can take a blood sample and see if everything's alright. But there isn't much else I can do for you right now. If the vomiting continues through the next week, I'd like you to come in again" she took a needle and too a sample of Sydney's blood. "If you are pregnant, do you think he will be happy about it?"

"Yeah, he will be."

"Well that's nice to hear" Sydney suddenly winced, her hand reaching down to her stomach.

"Sydney? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just feeling a little sick."

"Are you sure? Sydney, please lie down for a few minutes. I'll get your friend from the waiting room. If you'd like, I can get this sample analyzed for you within the hour."

"That would be great."

A few moments later, Sark rushed into the room. "Sydney, love, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, just feeling a little sick again. Would you mind waiting around for about an hour with me? Until we get the results from my blood test?"

"Of course, love. Of course."

He sat down next to her on the exam table, taking her into his arms while they waited for the results.

_Forty-five minutes later_

The doctor re-entered the room to see Sydney lying on the table with her legs in Sark's lap. "Sydney? Would I be able to talk to you alone please?"

"Sure," Sark said, moving her legs off of him, sliding off the table. He kissed Sydney lightly on the lips, "I'll be in the waiting room."

"Alright."

Once they were once again alone, the doctor began.

"Sydney, you're not pregnant."

"Oh," she looked down at her feet, dangling off the side of the table, "then what's going on with me."

"Miss Bristow, we found something in your blood. We have to run further tests to confirm, but you might have cancer."

"Wh – what? How… what… what?"

"Miss Bristow, I need you to listen to me. We are going to keep you over night to do further tests. We found the cancer cells in you're the blood sample, and we need to see how advanced the cancer might be. We need to see what treatments might be able to help you."

"How could this happen?"

"We don't have an answer to that. Do you know of anyone in your family history that has been affected by any form of cancer?"

"No! I don't think so."

"Well, would you mind if we kept you overnight to run the tests, or would you like to come back tomorrow."

"I'll stay tonight. But I just need to talk to Julian… the man with me before it happens, is that alright?"

"Yes, of course. When you're ready, just come in and we'll do the tests" she looked down at her file once again, "I'm sorry Sydney."

Sydney nodded and left the room silently. Once she entered the waiting room, Julian saw her and stood, closing the distance between them. "Sydney, are you alright? You look pale."

"I'm fine. Julian, I'm not pregnant."

"Syd, that's alright. It was just our thoughts getting ahead of us." Sark held out his arms to her, and enveloped her in his arms. "Syd, the doctor, did she say what's going on?"

"No," she lied, "I'm staying overnight for further testing."

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, it's alright. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Julian, I'll be fine."

"Alright. Will you call me when you are ready? I'll pick you up when you're ready tomorrow."

"OK."

"I love you" he whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I know" she said back, not ready to say those words to him. "I'll see you tomorrow alright?"

"Of course."

-------------------------------------------------------------

_The next morning - After the tests have been run_

The doctor enters the room, she looks at a file and frowns. "Sydney, Miss Bristow, I've got some bad news. The cancer is more advanced than we originally had thought. I'm sorry, but it doesn't seem like any treatments that have been developed can help you."

Sydney had tears running down her face, she was shaking with silent sobs. She tried to wipe them away with her hand, but it wasn't working. She couldn't move. She was frozen. "Am I dying?" she managed to croak out.

"I'm sorry Miss Bristow, but it doesn't seem as if there is anything we can do. If you'd like, we can try chemotherapy, but it's not likely that it will work. We could also try radiation therapy, but in reality there's almost no chance of anything helping" the doctor paused, looked down at Sydney's hands, and looked her in the eyes again, "would you like me to call that man who came with you yesterday? Julian?"

"I should do that. Can you please bring me a phone?"

"Yes, of course."

Moments later, Sydney was listening to Julian answer the phone. "Julian?"

"Sydney! I've been waiting for your call."

"I'm ready to come back now. Could you please come for me?"

"Of course, I'll be there soon love. I'll be there soon."

"Thank you" she placed the phone back in its cradle, "he's on his way."

"I'll leave you to get your things ready," she said, turning to leave the room, "Miss Bristow, it would be better for you if you decided whether or not to try the therapies sooner rather than later. That way, there's a better chance that we could fix this."

"Thank you doctor."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Just over an hour later, and a very uncomfortable and quiet car ride, we are back at his home. I haven't told him anything yet, and I'm not sure I will. I need time to think everything over, and that's what I did for the entire ride. I'm not going to tell him. He can't know. I know that it will kill him to know that I am dying and he can't do anything to save me. He can't help me.

I am going to do the only thing that I can think of to stop him. It will break his heart, but it will be better than him watching me die. I can't let him go through that. I can't let him see that, because I love him. I can't tell him that, because he won't let me go, but that's what he needs to do. Those words will hang in the air between us while I break his heart in two.

Once we get inside the house, I silently go to the bedroom and sit on the edge of the bed. He goes to the kitchen and gets two glasses of water, and then enters the bedroom. He can feel the tension in the room. It's as if he knows what's about to happen.

"Julian, this isn't working."

"I know Sydney. But all you have to do is talk to me. Tell me what happened today. Please tell me what you found out."

"Julian, that's not what I meant. I meant that I'm leaving. I care about you, but I don't love you, I never can," I lie. It breaks my heart to see his face. I can see his heart shatter. I thought it would break in half, but it shatters into a million pieces. He has tears in his eyes, and he drops the glass of water in his hand. "I will never get past the things that you have done in your life. But since I care about you, I'm going to leave. I'm going to let you move on, forget about me. I'm not going to lead you on, and give you false hope that some day I might feel the same way about you."

"Sydney please. Don't do this" he pleads, and it almost breaks me.

"I'm sorry" I whisper when I see a single tear fall across his cheek. I stand and leave the room silently. Leaving a broken man behind me. I feel as if I'm about to break down, but I can't allow for that to happen. Not yet.

Once I leave the house, I get on the first plane to Los Angeles. Once I finally arrive at Michael Vaughn's apartment, and I see him for the first time in over three months, I finally allow myself to break down.

----------------------------------------------------------------


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

The door opens and I can once again see Michael Vaughn in front of me. This moment makes everything that has happened in the past two and a half days become real. They hadn't hit me until that second. Once I see him, I break down, into full-out sobs. I collapse forward into his arms and just cry. He holds me, surprised that I'm there, but doesn't ask questions. I think he's too shocked to say anything.

After an hour of relentless sobbing, he finally gets up and gets a glass of water for me. I know that he has done something else in that time, because once he gets back in the room, he looks at me differently. I don't know what is going on.

"Sydney…" he says, disbelieving, "what are you doing here?"

"Everything's changed" I say cryptically.

"Syd, I don't understand. What's changed? Why are you here? Because the last time I saw you, you made it pretty clear that you didn't want to see me again…"

"I'm sorry" I whisper.

"What's going on Syd? Please tell me. I know something's wrong."

I've finally gotten my emotions under control. I know it's time. It is time that I tell him what's wrong. "I'll start by telling you this; I've left Julian" he looks at her with wide eyes, "but, not for the reason you probably think… or hope."

"Why, Syd?"

"I'm going to tell you everything, but you can't interrupt me, alright?"

"Sure. Alright."

I start the story, the story that tears me apart. "For the last couple of weeks, I have been feeling weak, I've been sleeping a lot, and at least three times a week, I've thrown up in the mornings." My story is interrupted by a knock at the door. My head whips around towards the sound.

"It's Eric." Vaughn says. "I called him when you showed up. He's been wanting to see you. He's been as worried about you as I have."

I smile at him, "that saves me from telling the story one more time" I say.

Vaughn gets up and gets the door, Weiss then rushes into the room, crushing me to his chest. I didn't know how much I had missed him until now.

After a few minutes of explanations, about my disappearance, I tell him what I had just told Michael, and then continue my story.

"Julian would try to confront me about what was going on with me, but I didn't want to talk about it. One morning, we figured out that I might be pregnant. He was so happy," I remember, smiling, "we went to the doctor that morning, to see if that's what it was" I look to the ground, frowning now. "The doctor took a blood sample and analyzed it while we waited. Julian was with me for that, but the doctor came back and wanted to talk to me alone. That made me a little worried at that point. If I had been pregnant, Julian could have stayed in the room, heard the happy news together."

"Syd," Weiss interrupted.

"No, Weiss please, I can't tell you this if you interrupt me."

"Sorry" he said.

"My thoughts were confirmed. I wasn't pregnant…" my eyes filled with tears "they found cancer cells in my bloodstream. I'm dying."

Vaughn and Weiss both look at me with tears in their eyes. One solitary tear flows down Vaughn's cheek and it breaks me. "Vaughn, that's not even why I'm here," I explain between sobs, "Julian told me that he loves me. That he loves me more than anything in his life." Both men in front of me take my hands and hold them tightly, knowing that what I have just said isn't the worst thing to come. "I know I'm dying, and because of this, I've realized that I love him too. But I can't tell him. I couldn't. I left him, and lied to him about why. I told him that nothing was wrong. That I could never love him. That I care about him enough to let him move on, and find someone who can love him."

"Sydney" Vaughn whispers. I know he's not trying to interrupt me, he's just saying it to try and calm me down.

"I can't let him watch me die. I love him too much. I want him to remember me as the person I was, as the person that he knew. I can't let him see me sick and helpless like I'm soon going to be."

Weiss sits up and pulls me to his chest once again. Vaughn is now sitting on the sofa opposite me, his face contorted in a look of shock and confusion. "I'm so sorry Syd." He repeats over and over again.

"I need to ask you a favour" I ask after a few minutes of silence.

"Anything" they both answer at the same time.

"Well, there are two things actually. First thing, I need a place to stay temporarily. And second, which is going to be the hardest thing for you to do. I'm going to give you this phone number. Before you ask, it's his. I want you to call him when this is all over. I want him to be there, when I… after I'm gone. I want him to know what happened to me. And, could you also give him this letter when I'm gone? I wouldn't trust anyone else with this."

"Of course Syd" answers Weiss.

"You can stay in my spare bedroom for as long as you'd like Sydney" Vaughn adds.

Sydney hands Weiss the letter for Sark, and both of them a copy of the phone number to contact Sark.

"I can't thank you two enough for what you're doing for me."

"Syd, the cancer… is… is it curable?"

"No. It's too advanced. They said that they can try some things, but so far, no one's survived it being this bad for more than a few months."

------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later, Weiss headed home, and Sydney and Vaughn headed to their separate rooms. Once Weiss got to his place, he beat himself up over the decision that he was about to make, but he knew it had to be done.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number written on the small piece of paper. He had thought about it, and found that he could take it if Sydney was angry with him for a while, but if Sark really loved her, he should know why she really left. Even if he is a terrorist or _was_ a terrorist, he deserved to know the truth. Plus, he has resources. Maybe, there could be a cure out there that they haven't found yet. Sark could do that. Maybe he could save Sydney.

The line rings, Weiss waits for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" he hears over the other end.

"Sark? It's Eric Weiss. I'm a friend of Sydney's."

"Sydney? Where is she? Is she alright?" he says quickly.

"Look, I can't really talk about it over the phone. I just want you to know that I feel you should know the truth. About why she left. She lied to you, Sark."

"I know. I know she lied to me. She found something out from the doctor, it must have been bad, but I don't know what it was."

"Can you make it to L.A. soon? I can't tell you over the phone. It needs to be in person."

"Weiss, I need to know… is she alright?"

"Just come as soon as you can. Do you know where to find me?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'll be seeing you then."

When the phone is down, Weiss takes a deep breath and heads to his bedroom for a sleepless night.

--------------------------------------------------------

_Twelve hours later_

Weiss is in his apartment, on his computer, researching as much as he can about cancer, when he hears a knock at the door. He gets up and answers the door.

In front of him stand a broken man. Sark is standing in the doorway. It takes a moment for Weiss to take everything in. His suit is wrinkled, his hair is a mess, he has bags under his eyes and the worried look on his face just cuts him to the bone.

"Weiss? Where is she?" he whispers.

"She's staying with Vaughn."

Sark looks at him, burning anger in his eyes. "So she's gone back to him has she?" Sark yelled. He started pacing the room, then stopped when he realized that he had truly lost her. He sat down on the couch silently and put his face in his hands. "I've lost her. I've lost the only person I've ever truly loved."

Weiss took this moment to speak up. "Sark, she hasn't gone back to him really. She's staying in his guest room. They're not getting back together."

"Really?"

"Yes"

Sark sighed. "So Mr Weiss, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"You were right. Sydney did find something out from that doctor. Sark, Sydney found out that she has cancer. She has cancer."

"What? How is that possible? It's curable right? It has to be! She's not going to die!"

"Sark, the cancer is too advanced. I'm sorry Sark."

"I have to see her. I have to be with her. She's going to make it through this, she's strong!"

"Look! You have to listen to me. She needs your help. I know that we can save her. But you need to help me. You have the resources, you can find someone who can help her!"

"You think I can help her? I don't have the resources anymore! I've left the business, I've left everything. I can't do it! If I go back, I can't leave! I promised her I wouldn't go back!"

"Sark, if you want Sydney to live, you have to do this."

They sat in silence for a while and thought of their options. Sark knew he had to go back. He loved Sydney. He couldn't let her die.

"Sark, I don't know how I can convince you to do this for her, but you need to know something else. I can't take you to see her yet. She only gave me your phone number so we could call you when she was gone. She wanted you to go to her funeral. I'm not ready to just let her die though, none of us are."

"Why! Why can't I see her! She needs me, I _need_ to see her!" he began pacing again.

"Sark, she doesn't want you to see her like this!" Weiss screamed. "She wants you to remember her like she was. When she was strong and beautiful, not weak, fragile and helpless. Sark, she's doing this because…"

"Why, why is she doing this?"

"She lied to you. She lied when she left. When she said that she didn't love you. That she couldn't love you. She's doing this because she loves you."

"She loves me?" he whispered.

"She loves you."

"She actually told you? She _told_ you that she loves me?"

"Yes, she did. She told _us_ last night. So why would she get back together with Vaughn after telling him that she loves another man?"

"No reason" Sark whispers, "what do you need me to do?"

"The cancer is very advanced. The normal treatments are not going to help. She needs _you_ to find someone who has been doing research or someone who has developed a treatment that isn't known to the normal medical field. Sark, Sydney would kill me for doing this. She told me not to go to you until she was gone. But, I can't let her do this to herself. I can tell that she's miserable. She is killing herself for leaving you, for hurting you."

"I would do anything for her. Even if that means that I cannot see her until I find a treatment for her."

"Sark, it will have to be quick. She doesn't have much time."

"It will be quick. I need her to be alright."

"So where do we go from here?"

"I'll contact you… soon. Weiss, can you do me one small favor?"

"Yeah, sure."

"If Sydney ever gets down, can you please, just… remind her that… I love her."

"Of course, but you don't think that will sound weird? I mean 'Syd, it's ok, just remember that the man that you love but left still loves you.' But really? How would I know that?"

"I don't know. Just please, tell her."

"I will."

Sark then leaves the apartment, leaving Weiss to think about the past few days.

------------------------------------------------------------


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Weiss had just gotten rid of Sark when his phone began to ring. He checked the caller-ID and saw that it was Vaughn.

"Hello?" Weiss spoke.

"Weiss? Hey. I'm calling about Sydney."

"What… is something wrong with her? Vaughn! Did something happen?"

"Well, nothing life-threatening. It's just that I'm really worried about her."

"Why, Vaughn? What happened after I left?"

"Sydney and I went to out beds and fell asleep. Or at least that's what _I_ did. Sydney however, cried herself to sleep. And then this morning, when I got up, I heard her crying in bed again. Weiss, I'm worried about her. I think we should call Sark. Maybe with his resources, he could do something. She's miserable without him. I can't see her like this."

"Mike, I did something that I thought you wouldn't agree with, but I see that you will. I called him last night."

"Called who? Sark?"

"Yeah, he flew in late last night, and he just left my apartment. He's promised not to see her until he knows whether or not he can find something for her. He really loves her Vaughn. I've never seen anything like it, when I told him about her… it was just… sad."

"Do you think he'll have any luck?"

"I don't know. It isn't likely, but if anyone can find a cure, it's him."

"Oh my god. Weiss, Jack doesn't know. We have to get him here. He's her _father_, he needs to know about this!"

"You're right. But, we should ask Sydney about that first. We should really do what she wants from now on."

"Sure."

They ended their call, because Vaughn heard Sydney's door open. "Syd? Are you up?"

"Yeah" he heard her say quietly.

"Are you alright?" he asked when he saw her face. Here eyes were red and puffy from crying.

"I'll be fine. It was just different, being in that big bed without him next to me. I just miss him. Vaughn, I miss him so much."

Sydney broke down again and fell into his chest, crying harder than he had ever seen her. He just held her, stroking her back and feeling his shirt dampen from her tears.

"Syd, you miss him, that's understandable. But, you said that he loves you right? Don't you think he should be here, don't you think he should be the one comforting you right now?"

"No!" she yelled. "I don't want him to see me like this. He thinks that I'm strong, but I can't be strong any more."

"Alright Syd, I understand. What about your father?"

"Oh. Um… he doesn't know either. I should probably see him today, and tell him. I bet he's going to go out and see a million doctors and try to find a cure or something" she laughed.

"Yeah, that's something that he would do. That man doesn't give up. Syd, neither does Sark."

"Please don't bring him up right now, I can't think about him without breaking down."

"Of course. I'm sorry."

----------------------------------------------------------

Sydney picked up the phone and dialled a very familiar number, "Dad?"

"Sydney?" he answered quickly.

"Dad, hi. I'm in town and I was wondering if I could come over and see you soon."

"Of course, sweetheart. Is Julian with you?"

Sydney almost burst into tears when he said that, "Um… no, I'm alone."

"Well you can come over any time today. I have finally taken a piece of your advice and taken a day off."

She smiled "I'm glad to hear that dad."

"Well, I'll let you go. See you soon sweetheart."

"Yeah, bye dad."

"Bye"

-------------------------------------------------------------

_One Hour Later – Jack's Apartment_

"Sydney! How are you? How's everything?" he asked.

"Dad, hi."

"Sydney? What's wrong?" he asked when he saw the lack of happiness in her face. "Why are you here without Sark?"

"I found something out the other day, dad. I'm here without him because… I left him, and everything in my life is just gone."

"Sydney, why… what's going on? Why did you leave him? I saw how much you cared for each other, I didn't like him, but I could see you loved him."

She smiled, "I never told him. Dad, there are two things I have never told him. I didn't tell him that I loved him, and I didn't tell him that I'm dying."

"Dying? Sydney what are you talking about?"

"I'm dying daddy. I have cancer" she said, and then broke into more sobs.

"Oh god." Jack whispered.

-------------------------------------------------------

Sydney stayed at her father's home that night. He just held her until she fell asleep.

-----------------------------------------------------

_Four Days Later_

Sydney had been staying with her father for four days and was much happier than she had been at Vaughn's. Even if there was nothing between them, it was still awkward. Her father was also better at comforting her.

Every day, they had gone to different doctors. All of them said the same things, "it's very advanced, there isn't anything we can do." But her father was not going to give up hope. That just wasn't a Jack Bristow thing to do. So Sydney went along with it.

On the fourth morning, Sydney woke up and threw up the remains of the previous night's dinner. She was not having a good morning. Her head was pounding, she woke up without Julian next to her, which made her cry a little still, and her stomach was in pain. She was feeling really weak today.

Her father was out talking to another doctor, thankfully without her, and she was home alone for the time being. Weiss was due over at any minute.

"Speak of the devil" she said when she heard a soft knock at the door.

"Hey Syd, how are you feeling today?" he asked sympathetically, seeing her pale complexion.

"Weak, tired, sad, sick. Just the usual, but ten times more this morning."

"Come here" he said, and enveloped her into his arms."

"Thanks."

"So, have you had any breakfast yet?"

"No, I don't feel like eating right now."

"Syd, you have to. You know that if your father was here, he'd force food down your throat. And he'd kill me if I didn't make you eat something."

"Fine. Just no eggs. The smell of them make me nauseous."

"No eggs coming right up."

Sydney went to the living room and sat on the sofa. Her head was spinning today. She couldn't shake off the dizziness.

"Chef Weiss has made you the most delicious pancakes in the entire world Syd. What would you like on them?" he heard no answer. "Syd, pancakes… syrup or blueberry sauce?"

Still no answer.

He put down the plate and walked to the living room where he saw Sydney lying on the floor. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. "Syd" he screamed, "Syd! Wake up!" he shook her lightly, checking her pupils. He got no response.

He called 911 and a few minutes later, they were off to the hospital in an ambulance.

----------------------------------------------------------


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty Two**

_Three Days Later_

Sydney awoke in a hospital room lined with flowers. The bunch that stood out were the ones that Eric Weiss was carrying into the room at the moment.

"Syd! Oh my god you're awake! I've been here every day just praying that you would wake up. Vaughn has been too, but he's been called away. How are you feeling?"

"Weak. Nothing hurts though, I just feel like sleeping."

"Well I'll just put these down and get the doctor" he looked at the flowers guiltily and put them down on a free space on the table.

Sydney looked down at her hands, there were three needles in them, and then she saw the IV's that were attached to them. She felt some discomfort around her nose and found tubes there.

She looked at the flowers that Weiss had just put down and realized what they were.

Lilies. Her favourite.

He knew.

Weiss re-entered the room and saw her face, she looked broken and tired. He felt horrible for her, he wanted to take her pain away. "The doctor will be in shortly Syd."

She nodded and a single tear fell down her cheek. "You told him didn't you" she smiled sadly.

Weiss looked at her and frowned, nodding his head slowly.

"It's ok Weiss. I understand." Sydney took his hand and held it in hers. "He isn't coming to see me right?"

"No, he just sent the flowers."

-------- _Flashback_ --------

Right after getting Sydney to the hospital Weiss called Jack, who was worried about Sydney, but said that he was on his way. He then prepared himself to make an even harder phone call.

"Julian Sark."

"Sark, hey. It's Weiss" he said grimly.

"Hello. Is something wrong? Did something happen to Sydney?"

"Yeah, it's about Sydney. Man, she's unconscious. She's in the hospital. They're looking after her. But I think you might have to speed up the search."

"I'm going as fast as I can! I can't do anything else! But I'm getting close. Tell me exactly what happened."

"She woke up this morning and she wasn't doing too well. She was sick to her stomach, feeling tired, weak, and then she sat down in the living room while I was making her some breakfast. It wasn't any more than fifteen minutes and I saw her on the floor."

He heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. "Please Weiss, tell her I love her, and that I'm trying to help her. Please. She doesn't even have to be conscious."

"I will. Just hurry."

"Weiss, I'm going to send her some flowers. Tell her they're from you. They'll be some white lilies. They're her favourite."

--------- _End Flashback_ ---------

"If you talk to him, can you please tell him that I'm sorry? And thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful."

"You really should let him see you. He's miserable and so worried about you right now."

"Weiss, I'm hideous like this. I have needles and tubes sticking in me, I'm pasty and pale. I'm just disgusting right now. _You_ shouldn't even be seeing me this way."

The doctor entered the room, stopping all conversation. "Miss Bristow, glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Weak. Nothing hurts though."

"Ah that's good, that means the drugs are working" he checked the folder at the end of her bed.

"We've run some tests on you Sydney and everything came back saying the same thing. You need to rest. This disease is taking its toll on your body and you should really stay in bed as much as you possibly can. We can start running the chemotherapy if you'd like, it might help delay harsher effects."

"No, it's alright."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Ok then. Well we're going to administer morphine for the pain and continue the IV for the next few days and see where it goes from there."

"Sure."

The doctor left Weiss and Sydney alone again.

Weiss was about to ask her why she didn't want the chemo when his cell phone rang. "Weiss, you're not supposed to have a cell phone in the hospital" Sydney scolded as he reached into his pocket.

"I'm CIA, they can sue me" he answered the phone, "Weiss."

Sydney only heard one side of his conversation. "Yeah, what did you find?"

"Really!" his face lit up. _Good news_, Sydney thought.

"You did it! You really did it! Ok, get him to my apartment as soon as you can. I'll take it from there. I can't believe you did it, man!" he hung up the phone and turned to Sydney smiling like a kid on Christmas.

"Syd. I've got good news!"

Sydney interrupted him. "Weiss, I want you to bring Julian to me now please. I need to see him. I can't die before I tell him how I feel."

"He's coming Syd. That was him" her face lit up, "he's been looking at experimental treatments for advanced cancer and he's found something. They've been doing research for ten years. It's something to do with filtering the blood. I don't know. But no one has died using this treatment. The only thing is that it's not legal in the US yet, so we're taking you to Berlin. Sark has saved your life again Syd. He did it!"

Sydney was crying silently. He had saved her life, again. And she could be with him now. "Weiss, give me your phone."

He handed her the phone and she dialed the number. He picked up the other end and she said "room 457, Riverside Hospital" and hung up the phone. She smiled at Weiss and said "thank you so much Weiss. I can't ever thank you enough for what you've done for me."

"Well, you can thank me by coming to my wedding. In all this chaos, I couldn't tell you that I proposed to Jennifer a couple of weeks ago, and well… she said yes. And since you're going to live and all, if you're all healed up by then, I'd love for you to come."

She was glowing, "Of course! Congratulations Weiss! How did you do it?"

"It was really cliché. I planned the romantic dinner at the French restaurant at the pier, and then when we went for a walk on the beach I got down on one knee and asked her."

"That's so romantic. I hope one day I'll actually get married and not just engaged."

"You will Syd, don't give up."

"Well this was almost enough to make me."

"Syd you're going to be ok now."

"How can you really know? There's no guarantee that this will work. It might not work, and then I could die. I'll never do any of the things that I'm supposed to do. I'll never get married, I'll never have kids, I'll never grow old with the love of my life. I'm not even going to be able to tell Julian how much I love him."

She was sobbing at this point and Weiss pulled her to him, rubbing her back soothingly. She clung to him and sobbed into his neck. A few minutes later someone came into the room silently and watched for a few minutes in silence. He was holding a bouquet of roses and lilies.

Both Sydney and Weiss were oblivious to the man in the room until they broke apart. Sydney gasped when she saw him and began crying again. Weiss smiled and left the room.

"How did you get here so fast, Julian?" she whispered.

"When you love someone, you have super speed" she giggled, "I was in the area."

He handed her the flowers "these are for you."

"Thank you" she smelled them, "they look just like the ones from the house."

"I had them flown in the other day. Just for you" Julian bent forward and kissed her forehead.

"I love you" Sydney whispered.

"I love you too" he replied. Tears formed in his eyes.

"Don't cry. You'll make me cry." Sydney pleaded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I never thought you'd tell me that."

"I never thought I'd have the chance."

"I can't believe that I actually fell for what you had told me back when you left. I didn't even think that this could be why you left." His tears fell down his cheeks, "you know, I think this is the first time I've cried in over twenty years."

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Sydney was weeping, and he kissed her lips softly, tasting their mixing tears. "I should have told you, but I was scared."

"I know, I know love. I'm sorry too."

"You shouldn't be."

"I know. But I still am" he sat in the chair next to her bed. "You're going to make it through this, you know that right?"

"I will if I have you by my side."

"I'll never leave."

"So twenty years from now when I'm married to another man and have lots and lots of babies, you're just going to follow me around?"

He laughed and kissed her again, "I'll only leave if you ask me to." Sydney yawned, "go to sleep my love, I'll be here when you wake. But, you might wake up in Berlin."

"Fine by me," she whispered groggily.

Sark was sitting in the chair holding her hand for two hours after that, just watching her sleep. He had missed her so much.

They were on the plane an hour later, and only then, did he allow himself sleep. He hadn't had more than twelve hours in the past week. But it had been worth it.

She was worth it.

---------------------------------------------------------------

She awoke in another hospital room, she figured that she was in Berlin. Her IV needles had been changed, she could tell because the tape was clean and the end of the needles were a different colour than they had been.

She turned to her side when she felt a pressure in her hand and she saw Julian asleep in the chair next to her. He looked so peaceful.

It was as if he could sense she was awake, because moments after she had awoken, he yawned and it was still the sweetest thing she'd ever seen. "Hello love" she said to him and he smile the most brilliant smile she had ever seen on him.

"You've never said that to me before."

"I know. I thought that it was about time."

"Me too."

A doctor walked into the room with a nurse and he smiled at Sydney. "So I've done the initial tests and everything looks good. We're going to start the procedure in a few minutes, so you'll be asleep for most of it."

Sark looked at the doctor "how long will she be unconscious?"

"About a week. We can't take any risks with her, the cancer is at a very advanced stage. We'll have to put her under. It won't be a coma, but it'll be similar." The nurse took a syringe and tested it to get the air out. "This is Maria, she'll administer the drugs to you every day. So she'll get to know you, but you won't know a thing."

"Doctor?" Sydney spoke "Can I please know your name?"

He smiled and nodded "Nikolai Dubranov"

"You're Russian?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Both of us are half-Russian."

He smirked and nodded. "Well, I'm going to get the transfusions ready. You'll be out by the time they're ready, so I'll see you in a week."

"Wait!" Sydney cried, "How long is the entire thing going to take. Am I just going to be cured after a week?"

"Most of it should be finished within the week, but you will have to come in after that once a month for chemotherapy treatments. You should be perfect again in about six months."

"Ok" Sydney smiled.

"Syd, everything's going to be fine. You're going to be healthy, and then we can be together" Sark said, he was smiling so brightly still.

"I love you. I'm sorry that it took this to get me to tell you."

"Don't be sorry my love."

Sydney's head began to move from side to side and her eyelids were becoming heavy. Sark kissed her forehead and tucked her hair behind her ears and then kissed her palm. "We'll be together forever my love" he whispered when she was asleep.

The nurse smiled down at him and he had forgotten that she was there. "You really love her don't you?"

"More than anything" he replied, "more than anything" he repeated.

-------------------------------------------------


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty Three**

_One Year Later_

Sydney walked into her house mumbling something about the CIA being jackasses for keeping her at work so late. She was nearly one hour late for her date with Julian. Tonight was their one year anniversary of their reconciliation. It was now just under five months that Sydney had been confirmed cancer-free and two weeks since she had been tested to see if her children would be affected by the cancer. It was all good news because they had found out that her children would be healthy.

After opening the door, Sydney stepped inside the house, dropped her bag on the ground and tore her jacket off. She threw her keys on top of the radiator behind the door and pulled off her shoes. "Julian?" she cried out. His car had been in the driveway, so he must have been in the house.

They had bought the house together after her cancer-free confirmation. It was a beautiful Tudor house in a nice neighbourhood in LA. Julian had agreed to move back with her as long as they could keep the house in France, just for special occasions, he said to her. She loved this house though, it was perfect for them.

"Julian, I'm sorry, I know I'm late," she cried as she ran to the bedroom to get changed. Julian had not answered her yet and she was a little worried. But this worry did not stop her from getting ready for their anniversary dinner. She opened the bedroom door and saw Julian standing in front of her in a tux holding a single calla lily. Sydney gasped and her eyes welled with tears when she looked around and saw the dozen vases around the room all holding lilies. Rose petals were scattered across the floor and the bedspread and candles were illuminating the room.

"Welcome home love," he said when she froze in front of him.

"You did all of this?" she asked.

"I almost didn't get it done," he said quickly, "But," he walked up to her and kissed her cheek, "I had your work mates keep you in late," he smirked.

She slapped his arm playfully, "So now I get it. I thought that 'emergency staff meeting' was a little silly."

"I called Sarah and told her what I had planned. She said that she would do whatever she could to keep you later."

"I love you," she whispered. "Can I get dressed?" she asked him sweetly.

"You already are. You look beautiful," he added.

"I'm in work clothes. See?" she held out the bottom of her skirt and showed him a purple paint stain. "Lizzie spilled purple paint on me this morning. Honestly, if she wasn't so adorable I would have killed her," she said smiling.

Julian laughed and then walked to the closet. Sydney knew that he was picking out her dress for her, but she couldn't see which one he was going for. Finally he turned around and held up a black dress with a slit up to the top of the thigh that went somewhat diagonally, and it had some embroidered flowers decorating it. "Oh, that's beautiful Julian," she gasped.

"Nothing's too beautiful for you."

Sydney changed into the dress and they headed into the dining room which was also lit by candles. Julian lit a fire in the fireplace and they ate a delicious gourmet meal that he had specially made for her.

When they finished eating Sydney and Julian danced to beautiful Cuban guitar music that happened to be Sydney's favourite. They danced for hours before Julian turned off the music. Sydney wondered why until he turned around. In his hand was a small black box. He walked up to Sydney and dropped to one knee.

"Sydney, I have loved you for so long now, and I could never have even thought of you coming to love me. I don't know what I would do without you in my life. You have saved me, given me everything that I could have dreamed of, given me so much more than I deserve. Love you more than anything in the world and I would do anything for you. I can't live my life without you beside me. Will you marry me?" he asked her.

Sydney just stared at him and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Instead of saying anything, because that didn't seem to be working, she pulled Julian up to her and kissed him passionately. When he pulled away, she noticed that he was shaking slightly. It was then that she noticed how nervous he must have been. She then breathed in and said, "Yes!"

He picked her up and twirled her around. He took her left hand and placed the ring on her finger. He kissed her again with such passion that they forgot about anything that wasn't in their little world of love at that moment. They barely made it to the bedroom before tearing off each other's clothing and collapsing onto the bed in extreme passion.

----------------------------------------------------------

Sydney and Julian had been engaged for three weeks when it started. She kept it from Julian because she knew it would break his heart. This morning she woke up and instantly ran to the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach. Recently, she had been sleeping much more than usual. She was glad that Julian hadn't noticed yet. He had been working a lot recently, trying to get a new job as a languages teacher at the same school she worked at. He was great with kids.

The thought of children brought her to tears in the small bathroom. She sat with her back against the bathtub and cried until she saw Julian looking at her concerned in front of her. "Love, what's wrong?" he asked as he pulled her into his arms.

"It's back," she whispered into his neck.

Not understanding what she was talking about, his mind strayed to the worst thoughts possible. He put on a calm tone, "What's back, love?"

"The cancer," she whimpered, "I think it's back," she began to sob against him. As soon as she had said cancer he froze. He stopped breathing. His mind stopped working. He just froze.

After a few minutes he picked her up and brought her back to the bedroom. He got dressed and then picked up some clothes for Sydney and began to undress her. "What are you doing?" she asked tearfully.

"I'm getting you dressed. We're going to the doctor right now," he said. Sydney nodded and began to help him get her dressed. She was unable to do it on her own because she was trembling.

They got into the car and were at the doctor's office within fifteen minutes. Julian had called on the way there to tell him that it was an emergency and they needed to be seen right away. The office happened to be in the doctor's home, so he was able to see them before normal office hours.

Sydney sat on a cold bench with her sleeve rolled up. The doctor came in and took a needle from a drawer, explaining to Sydney that they were going to analyze the blood, checking for traces of cancer. Julian sat by her side, holding her hand the entire time.

They left the doctor's office and went to see a movie, trying to get their minds off things. The only movie playing at the right time was a spy flick. They gladly saw it and happened to be the only people in the theatre at the time, so they spent their time mocking the actors and pointing out everything that they were doing wrong. It was one of the things that they just loved to do. Watching the movie actually took their minds off everything for a while, and when they left the theatre they tried to get something to eat, but it didn't really work out. Both Sydney and Julian had no appetite because of their nerves.

Two hours later, they received a call from the doctor asking them to come back for the results. Sydney and Julian were asked to go into the same room they had left a few hours ago. Sydney sat on the same cold table and Julian took his place in the seat next to her and held her hand. The doctor came in and took one look at Sydney before he broke into a smile. "Good news Miss Bristow, the cancer is not back."

Sydney squeezed Julian's hand and exhaled. Julian stood and kissed her forehead. "That's so great Syd," he said kissing her lips softly.

"So do you know what's making me sick?" she asked the doctor.

He nodded and smiled, "Congratulations Miss Bristow, you're pregnant."

Julian's face instantly lightened up. He looked over at Sydney who looked shocked. The doctor noticed that Sydney hadn't moved and wasn't breathing. "Miss Bristow are you alright?" he asked quickly. Sydney looked up at him and a small smile began to creep up on her face.

"I'm pregnant," she stated quietly. "Oh my god, I'm pregnant!" she squealed. She jumped off the bench and hugged Julian, "We're having a baby!"

"Yes, we are having a baby," he whispered. The doctor laughed.

"Miss Bristow, we'll need to give you a referral to another doctor to do an ultrasound soon, and I'll give you a prescription for your prenatal pills. So far everything looks good. Just rest, no drinking, no smoking, no travelling in your third trimester… But other than that, you can live your life normally. Congratulations again, both of you."

Sydney and Julian shook the doctor's hand before leaving together. "I am so happy that I'm pregnant," Sydney said as they got into the car, "I was so scared thinking that it was cancer. I didn't want to leave you."

"I don't ever want to be without you Sydney. That's why we're getting married."

"Can we get married really soon?" she asked.

Julian looked over at her and smiled. He took her hand in his, "We could drive to Vegas right now and do it if you wanted to."

Sydney laughed and shook her head, "I think we should tell my father and Nadia all of this first. And I wasn't thinking today, I was thinking about next month. That way we know if the baby's okay and I can still look thin in my dress."

"You're going to be the sexiest pregnant woman in the world."

Sydney laughed, "I'm going to be fat. Are you saying that you want me to be fat?" she asked.

"No, that's not what I meant. I think that you'll look incredibly sexy with that baby in you because I'll know that it's a product of our love for each other."

Sydney smiled and then giggled, "When did you get so sappy?" she asked, "What happened to the cocky British bastard that I fell in love with?"

"I don't know if you'd want him around our child. Something might happen. They might learn to be like me."

"Well, that's true. I don't want our child to be in the same life we lived. I want our baby to have both parents and not a dead one with the other not actually being a part of its life. I don't want it to be like us."

"I wouldn't mind a little girl that looks like you running around the yard. A little girl wearing a pink dress with pigtails and chubby cheeks, who smiles at her mother and giggles when you tickle her sides…" he drifted off as they turned a corner and got to the house.

"It looks like you've given this a lot of thought," she smiled, "But one _BIG_ rule," she said seriously, "No guns in any place that could be accessed by our child."

Julian nodded seriously, "I would never dream of it," he said. They went into the house and smiled, knowing that one day they would enter the house carrying their baby. "Also, we should increase the security here. I don't want someone getting in here without us knowing."

Sydney nodded and hugged him tightly, "We should call everyone and get them over here so we can tell them."

"Your father is going to kill me."

They both laughed before Sydney went to the phone and dialled the first number, "Hey, dad. Can you please come to the house? Yeah, everything's just fine. I need to talk to you though. Okay, thanks. See you soon!" she said cheerfully before hanging up the phone. She then repeated the gesture by calling Vaughn, Weiss and Jennifer. They had waited for their wedding because they wanted to make sure that Sydney was going to be alright. They wanted to have her at the wedding and needed to know that she was healthy enough to participate in the ceremony.

An hour later everyone was gathered in the backyard looking at each other in confusion. Sydney and Julian sat on a small bench in front of the others, who were sitting on chairs. The pair smiled at each other before turning to the group, "We're engaged," Julian said like a lovesick puppy.

Vaughn looked like he was going to be sick and Jack's face was stoic. No emotion was passing over his face; it was just a look of complete and utter shock. Weiss and Jennifer however looked excited. "That's wonderful!" they both said. "I can help you with the wedding plans!" Jennifer squealed.

Sydney smiled and nodded, "Um… another thing…" she bit her bottom lip and looked at her father. "This morning I woke up and well… I felt nauseas and kind of freaked out. That was the first thing that happened before I was diagnosed with the cancer last year. Julian and I panicked and went straight to the doctor's," her father looked like he was about to cry. There wasn't a moment that she could remember that he had ever shown this kind of emotion before. Well, other than the time she turned up on his doorstep announcing that she was dying. "We found out that I'm pregnant," she said as a smile broke out on her face. Julian smiled as well and kissed her temple before glancing at Jack.

Jack let out a breath and slowly, a smile crept over his face. "So to be clear, you're not dying?" he asked.

Sydney shook her head and smiled, "Not dying," she answered.

"I can't believe my daughter's getting married," he said. He got out of his seat and hugged her, "By the way, I approve of him," he whispered.

"You do?" she asked as they pulled away.

"He's stood by you through everything. He really loves you Sydney."

Sydney kissed her father's cheek, "Thank you daddy."

She looked at Jennifer who was talking to Weiss, and judging by his reaction Jennifer told him something along the lines of 'I want a baby too'. He jumped off the bench and screamed, "ARE YOU CRAZY?" before sitting back down. He saw her hurt face and kissed her forehead before saying, "Not until after we're married," she giggled and got out of her chair.

Jennifer smiled at Sydney and gave her congratulations before Vaughn made any movement. He stood and hugged Sydney telling her congratulations before he kissed her cheek and left. "Vaughn," Sydney cried out after him, "Please Vaughn."

He turned around harshly, "Look, Syd I want to be happy for you. And I really am, but I can't help but be jealous. I wanted you to be with me! I wanted this to be you and me, announcing our engagement. I wanted that baby to be ours."

A tear ran down her cheek, "I'm sorry Vaughn, but things are different now. I'm with Julian and I'm happy."

"I know, and that's what makes things better. Because, as much as I love you, I just want you to be happy, and you're happy with him. I want to be your friend though, if that's alright."

"Well, that's a change in the discussion," she mumbled but nodded, "I want to be your friend too, Vaughn."

They hugged and he left through the front door. Sydney jumped when Julian came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, "Everything alright, love?" he asked.

"Jesus! You scared me."

He laughed and kissed her head, "Sorry," he sheepishly apologized, "So is everything alright with Vaughn?" he asked.

"It will be, he just needs some time."

"So earlier, was that really your father saying that he approves of me?" Julian asked.

Sydney laughed, "I think it was."

Sydney turned around and kissed him softly. They walked back out to the backyard and saw Jack, Weiss and Jennifer talking to each other. Jack asked them if they had thought about a wedding date yet, "Um…" Sydney answered, "We're planning on next month. That way it's before the baby arrives and I can still fit in a wedding dress without looking like a whale."

"Syd, you won't look like a whale," Weiss quickly countered.

"I'm going to gain like thirty pounds in the next nine months, I'm going to look like a beached whale!" she screamed before breaking into sobs. "I'm going to be hideous and everyone's going to hate me and Julian's going to leave me and I'm not going to be able to take care of the baby and…"

Julian cut her off with a kiss. "Syd," he said when they broke apart, "I will never leave you. You are going to look like a goddess. You really are. We are going to be together, and we will love this baby more than anything in the world."

"I'm so sorry, Julian, it's these stupid hormones," she laughed, "I don't even know why I'm crying."

"Great," Julian sighed, "Nine months of this," he whispered and Jack chuckled.

"Laura was unbelievable. She cried almost twelve hours a day. It was impossible for her to stop sometimes. Hopefully Sydney won't be like that."

Sydney groaned, "I don't want that to happen to me," she laughed.

"Well we have to make an appointment with the doctor to see how far along she is, and the due date."

"I think we should do the amniotic test to see if there are any traces of genetic abnormalities," Sydney said.

"If you want to, love."

Twenty minutes later everyone had left and Sydney and Julian were once again alone in their home. "Syd, do you want to find out the sex of the baby before it's born?" Julian asked suddenly.

"I don't know, do you?"

He nodded, "I want to get the nursery ready for this little one," he said as he rubbed her stomach lovingly, "before it comes."

Sydney smiled at him, "What would the other terrorists say if they could see you like this right now?" she asked him jokingly.

He laughed and shook his head.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Come on, Syd you are strong, you can do this!" Julian screamed as another contraction tore through his wife's body. She was pushing as hard as she could and within a few seconds a shrill scream from a new life's lungs tore through the room.

"It's a girl," was the next thing he heard. He looked over at Sydney who had tears running down her face. Julian had to admit that there were tears in his eyes as he watched the doctors check his daughter's vitals. A few moments later she was in his arms, intently paying attention to the new world around her.

"Hello beautiful," he whispered, "You are the most beautiful baby girl in the world."

He placed her in Sydney's arms and she instantly smiled at her, "Hey sweetheart," she whispered. Julian kissed Sydney's forehead and whispered that he loved her. "What should we name her?" she asked him.

"I was thinking about Lily for her middle name," he admitted. Sydney smiled at him and then looked back at their daughter who had just fallen asleep in her arms, "How about you pick her first name," he added.

"I don't know if you'd feel bad about it, but would Francine be okay?" she asked tentatively.

Julian nodded and smiled, "Francine Lily Lazarey?" he asked with a smile on his face. He looked down at their little bundle of joy and then at Sydney, who began to smile, "It's perfect."

"Hey Francie," Sydney whispered to the sleeping baby, "We love you so much." Sydney looked up at Julian and smiled, "So what are we going to tell her about how we met?" she said jokingly.

"We'll figure it out," he replied, "We are spies, after all."

The two spies watched their daughter sleep for a while longer as they watched their new, normal life begin to unfold before them. Sydney was no longer living a life of loss, but a life with a happy ending.

_**The End**_


End file.
